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FAMOUS GENERALS 
OF THE GREAT WAR 



FAMOUS LEADERS SERIES 

BY 

CHARLES H. L. JOHNSTON 

FAMOUS INDIAN CHIEFS 
FAMOUS SCOUTS 
FAMOUS PRIVATEERSMEN 
FAMOUS FRONTIERSMEN^ 
FAMOUS DISCOVERERS and EX- 
PLORERS of AMERICA 
FAMOUS GENERALS OF THE 
GREAT WAR 

9 

BY 

EDWIN WILDMAN 
FAMOUS LEADERS of INDUSTRY 

? 

THE PAGE COMPANY 

53 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass. 




FERDINAND FOCH 

(See page 90) 



Famous Generals 



OF THE 



Great War 

WHO LED THE UNITED STATES AND HER 
ALLIES TO A GLORIOUS VICTORY 



By 

CHARLES H. L. JOHNSTON 

Author of "Famous Scouts," "Famous Indian Chiefs, 
"Famous Cavalry- Leaders," "Famous Frontiersmen," 
"Famous Privateersmen," "Famous Discoverers 
and Explorers of America," etc 



Illustrated 




BOSTON. § THE PAGE 

COMPANY. 5 MDCCCCXIX 



3t 



Copyright, 1919, 
By The Page Company 

/4W rights reserved 



First Impression, September, 1919 



0C1 '1\TI9I9 



THE COLONIAL PRESS 
C. H. SIMONDS COMPANY, BOSTON, U. S. A. 



©CI.A535 245 



TO QUENTIN KOOSEVELT: 

BURIED IN FRANCE 

Son of a fighting sire, 

Bred from a vent'rous strain, 
Your eagle-blood has paid the price, 

You lie among the slain. 
On fleeting plane you met your death, 

You fell from cloudy space, 
Your bleeding form lies where you struck,- 

Scion of a battling race. 

Here's to you! noble-hearted youth! — 

The world needs men like you; 
Here's to your crushed and bleeding form, 

Hurled crashing from the blue! 
With reverent hands we'll place a stone, 

Where you lie cold and gray ; 
A tribute of out debt to France, — 

Which you helped to repay. 



PREFACE 

My dear Boys: 

The world conflict, which has happily come to a 
close, was the greatest and the most destructive war 
of all history, for the engines of destruction — contrived 
by the mind of man — are now more ruinous than ever 
before. Millions of human beings have been destroyed 
because of the unbridled ambition of one man, assisted 
by his adherents and counselors. Thousands of peace- 
ful homes have been laid waste, and the wreckage of 
battle is strewn over the once quiet fields of France, of 
Belgium, of Poland, Kussia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Servia, 
and Palestine. 

In this book I have written of the more prominent 
generals of the Allied forces, who, leading the armies 
of millions, have crushed the mailed fist of Germany, 
raised to enslave the world beneath the Teutonic flag. 
These men have seen suffering, death, privation, want, 
and destruction. They have led the forces of anti- 
Germans to a successful victory, and are worthy of 
permanent recognition by the historian. 

Trusting that these essays will prove both interesting 
and instructive, 

I beg to remai 

Always affectionately yours, 

Charles H. L. Johnston. 
Chevy Chase, Md., 

June, 1919. 

vii 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface vii 

The Devil Dogs ix 

"Papa" Joffre: Hero of the Battle of the 

Marne 3 

Sir John French : The Man Who Led the First 

British Army 29 

King Albert of Belgium : The Ruler Who "Came 

Back" 71 

Ferdinand Foch : Commander-in-Chief of the 

Allies 87 

Sir Douglas Haig: Commander of the British 
Forces in France 115 

John J. Pershing: Commander of the Army of 

the United States 141 

Henri P. Petain: Defender of Verdun . . . 171 

Armando Diaz: Commander of the Victorious 

Armies of Italy 185 

Sir Edmund Allenby, K.C.B. : The Conqueror of 
Jerusalem 203 

Sir Stanley Maude : Another Kitchener . . . 217 

Franchet D 'Esperey : Hero of the Balkan Cam- 
paign 235 

Edouard De Curieres De Castelnau: The De- 
fender of Nancy 251 

Jan Smuts: Leader of the British Forces in 

South Africa 267 

Sir Julian H. Byng: The Man Who Led the 
Smash at Cambrai 291 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Ferdinand Foch (See page 90) . . . Frontispiece 

"Papa" Joffre .6 

Sir John French 32 

King Albert 74 

Sir Douglas Haig ....... 118 

John J. Pershing ....... 146 

James G. Harboard ....... 151 

Henri P. Petain . . . . . . .172 

Maurice P. Serrail ....... 175 

Armando Diaz ........ 190 

Sir Edmund Allenby .204 

Sir Stanley Maude .218 

Franchet D'Esperey . . . . . . . 240 

Edouard De Curieres de Castelnau .... 258 

Jan Smuts ,269 

Sir Julian H. Byng .292 



THE DEVIL DOGS 

We're first to fight on land and sea, so say the posters 

plain, 
We're always in the thick of it, and slay or else are 

slain ; 
We're always where there's trouble, we're where the 

minnies sing, 
And we send like rakish clipper ships, when running 

wing-and-wing. 

We draw our men from every walk, from east, south, 

north and west; 
We marshal them from every state to man the "buzzard's 

nest." 
We have some "jays" from Arkansas, we have some 

" rubes " from Maine, 
But we're all alike, from officer down to the each rookie 

plain. 

We're always at the beck and call of someone higher up ; 
We're always straightening some one out, when some one 

runs amuck; 
We're always going off somewhere, we're always coming 

back, 
But we always finish up the job, before our guns we 

stack. 

ix 



x THE DEVIL DOGS 

So, when this trouble started and the Boche began to 

fight, 
And when the Kaiser blazoned forth that German Might 

was Right, 
Of course they sent at once for us, — they hid to, don't 

you see, 
For we're used to just this sort of thing, we soldiers of 

the sea. 

We steamed at once for sunny France, we marched 

through gay Paree, 
The people liked to see us, for, — we're Hell Hounds of 

the sea, 
We tramped in columns down the Bois, we hit the trail 

just east, 
And we knew we'd soon have trouble with the blatant 

German beast. 

They hiked us towards the firing line, to a little, gray 

Chateau, 
Where the German guns were growling, and their shells 

were whining : " Go ! " 
They camped us in a chicken-yard and some one said: 

" Hold hard ; 
For to-morrow we will hit the Boche and fill a new 

grave-yard." 

£o each man prayed his solemn prayer, and each man 
cinched his belt. 



THE DEVIL DOGS xi 

And each one oiled his rifle, and chucked his hat of 

felt, 
And each one donned a top of steel, and grinned from 

ear to ear, 
For he knew the day had now arrived to move Fritz to 

the rear. 

Next morn the guns were thundering to lay down our 

barrage ; 
Next morn the Boches gathered thick to make their final 

charge ; 
Next morn we saw them coming on — they sure were 

fighting mad ; 
And then we got the word to "FIRE I" and we gave 

them all we had. 

YE GODS ! They fell down rank on rank, our lead 

was something fierce; 
Their blooming officers were there to yell and cry out: 

" Pierce ! 
Go through these blooming Yankees ! Right on to gay 

Paree ! » 
But the dirty knaves had missed their guess, our lead 

was quite too free. 

And then the bugle shrilled the charge, — we were at 

them with a yell, 
Which sounded like a war-whoop from some western, 

red-man's dell: 



xii THE DEVIL DOGS 

We piled them up by thousands, and we kept them 

moving fast, 
Until we got the word to halt to keep from being gassed. 

The next day some one chanced to say we'd fought at 

Chateau-Thierry, 
We paid no heed to that at all, we were too dog-gone 

weary ; 
Next day a Boche came to our lines, and said: 

" You're Teufel Hunden!" 
Which means, we're blooming Devil Dogs, " mit 

Schmelz und Hell gefunden." 

Yes, yes, I guess they named us right, for that's where 

Fritz stood still, 
Next day he moved quite backward, for he'd had a 

nauseous pill : 
He kept on marching backward, 'til he rested at Sedan, 
For well he knew that he at last had met the better 

man! 

So, we hiked again to gay Paree, and kissed the made- 
moiselles, 

We laugh with all the little kids, and heard the ring- 
ing bells, 

Then we filed again on to our ship, we'd done our usual 
job, 

"We're FIEST TO FIGHT AND LAST TO QUIT," 
the unknown, unthanked gob. 



" PAPA " JOFFRE 

HEEO OF THE BATTLE OF THE MAKNE 



FAMOUS GENERALS 
OF THE GREAT WAR 



" PAPA " JOFFRE 
HEEO OF THE BATTLE OF THE MAKNE 

THE French army had been retreating for weeks be- 
fore the onrushing Prussian hordes. The Poilus 
had, therefore, begun to wonder how much longer 
they would have to make this retrograde movement, 
when the following order was read to them : 

" Soldiers : 

" At a moment when a battle, on which the salvation 
of your country may depend, is about to begin, you must 
remember that this is not the time for retrospective 
glances, for all our efforts must be employed to at- 
tack. Aji army that cannot advance, must, no matter 
what the cost, maintain the territory won, and die rather 
than retreat. 

(Signed) "Joffre." 

Fired by these stirring words, and by the still more 
portentous fact, that, should they not beat back the 
Hunnish avalanche, the city of Paris would soon be in 
the hands of the invader, the French soldiers turned to 
fight the grimmest battle which their countrymen had 
engaged in since the fierce conflict of Sedan, in 1870. 

3 



4 FAMOUS GENERALS 

In command of their entire force was a man who had 
been born at Rivesaltes, in the southern part of France, 
and near the Pyrenees mountains, January 12th, 1852. 
The son of a cooper, Joseph-Jacques-Cesaire Joffre, the 
future Generalissimo of the French army was one of 
eleven children, of whom but three — two brothers and 
a sister, Madame Artus, the widow of a Captain of 
artillery — remain alive to-day. The Joffre home was 
humble, plain, and inartistic ; such a home as a man of 
very moderate means would occupy. 

The childhood of General Joffre differed little from 
that of thousands of other boys and girls who went 
to school and played with him in the streets of Rive- 
saltes. Young Joffre was a silent boy; a fair scholar, 
but neither brilliant nor over-industrious. It seems that 
he lacked the ability to make himself popular with 
other boys. He was an obstinate child and preferred 
lonely rambles to play with his schoolmates. 

" My mother used to say that she remembered the 
general's mother saying that, when a baby in the cradle, 
the general never cried," declared several old residents 
of Rivesaltes. At any rate, all of the great soldier's 
schoolmates remember better than anything else his 
unwillingness to talk, his peculiar gift of silence, which, 
in later years has come to be known as " Joffre's taci- 
turnity." 

France now needed men for its army, for, during 
the revolutionary period, the nobility had been deci- 
mated and exiled. The army now became a great 
democratic institution, and the French middle class 
filled the different training schools with their young 



"PAPA" JOFFEE 5 

men. The future career of little Joffre was decided 
at a family council, and it was there determined to send 
the boy to Paris where he was to prepare for the Poly- 
technic. So, at the age of fifteen and a half years, 
Joseph Joffre left his paternal home. This was in 
1869. A year later he entered the army that defended 
Paris against the besieging Prussians. 

Beaten and humiliated at Sedan, Napoleon III ca- 
pitulated to the Prussian King, and, when the exultant 
Germans advanced upon Paris, young Joffre was given 
an emergency commission as a lieutenant of artillery. 
He took his post with one of the siege batteries hastily 
formed for the defense of the capital against the dreaded 
foe. As you all know — Paris fell — the Prussians 
exacted an indemnity of $15,000,000 from the bleed- 
ing city, and marched back to Germany richer and more 
overbearing than when they came. 

After the war young Joffre gave up his commission 
as a gunner, returned to the Ecole Poly technique to 
complete his course of study, and left during the follow- 
ing year, 1872, having the rank of lieutenant, attached 
to the 2nd Eegiment of Engineers. He was now 
twenty, and his marvelous ability to manipulate 
figures rapidly and accurately, his thorough knowledge 
of the higher mathematics, his logical mind, and his 
great common sense, soon secured him a foremost place 
among his fellow officers. 

The Paris defenses were much in need of improve- 
ment at this time, and Lieutenant Joffre was now em- 
ployed in the occupation of rendering them more se- 
cure. In 1876 Marechal de MacMahon, who was the 



6 FAMOUS GENERALS 

President of the Kepublic, made a personal and thor- 
ough inspection of the work already accomplished by 
his officers, and, being pleased with what had been 
done, took occasion to congratulate those who had made 
such excellent progress. Turning to a squarely built, 
unassuming sapper, who was standing near one of the 
fortifications, he said, in an abrupt manner: "I con- 
gratulate you, Captain Joffre," that was all. 

Lieutenant Joffre was astonished, for he little ex- 
pected the unsought-for promotion. Yet this was a 
splendid acknowledgment of his worth and energy, and 
never was honor more justly deserved or more mod- 
estly borne. Without more ado he turned back to his 
work of perfecting the defenses of Paris, and labored 
so persistently that in five years the city had been made 
practically impregnable; or as impregnable as it was 
humanly possible to make it. 

Joffre, in fact, became a master in the art of build- 
ing fortifications. His work was noticed, and, when 
Admiral Courbet telegraphed from Kelong — a port in 
the Island of Formosa — for a French officer who under- 
stood thoroughly the way to dig trenches and to erect 
forts, Joffre was very naturally chosen for the task. 
Kelong had been occupied by the French for but one 
year, yet it was essential that an army of occupation 
should be placed there to establish French rights and to 
exclude the growing German influence in the Far East. 
To Joffre was to be given the task of making Kelong 
into a formidable fortress, and so well did he accomplish 
this duty that he was decorated with the Legion of 
Honor. 




« T>» T.A » 



PAPA JOFFRE 



"PAPA" JOFFEE 7 

For three years the robust young Frenchman re- 
mained in Formosa, occupying himself — for the most 
part — in effecting a system of housing which was prac- 
tically perfect. Under his direction barracks were put 
up, and they afforded the men such excellent protec- 
tion against both heat and damp, that many valuable 
lives were saved which otherwise would have been 
claimed by malaria or enteric fever. In 1888, Captain 
Joffre returned to France, and on May 6th, 1889, was 
made Major and Commandant at the War Office in 
Paris. Soon after this he left Paris for Versailles, 
where he was appointed Major to the 5th Regiment of 
Railway Corps. In this position he acquired a great 
practical knowledge of the French railways, which was 
to be of such advantage to him when troops were to be 
mobilized against the Prussian invasion of 1914. 

Promotion now came rapidly for the young officer. 
On April 7, 1891, he was appointed Professeur de Fort- 
ification, or lecturer on the art of science and fortifica- 
tion, at the famous artillery school for officers, the 
Ecole d 'Application at Fontainebleau. He proved to 
be an excellent teacher and was so greatly appreciated 
that many were anxious to have him remain in France 
in order to give the younger generation of officers the 
benefit of his extensive knowledge of military science. 
But Major Joffre had adventure in his soul ; he longed 
to go to French Africa and to know something of the 
great and mysterious Black Continent. 

France has an immense African domain. Upon the 
western coast of Africa she possesses valuable colonies, 
which are from north to south : Senegal or Senegambia, 



8 FAMOUS GENERALS 

French Guinea, the Ivory coast, Dahomey, and French 
Congo. Upon the northern coast she has highly pros- 
perous territories, stretching from Tunis to Morocco. 
Forced to retire inland to inaccessible regions, the un- 
ruly native tribes are a perpetual menace and a source 
of grave danger to the peaceful native population in the 
interior. It has been one of the duties of the French 
army to accomplish the task of civilizing the country and 
of chastising the natives. Also of building railroads 
from the coast to the interior. 

In December, 1892, Major Joffre landed upon Da- 
kar's busy quay, and, in 1893, he was surveying the 
lines for a railroad to run from Kita to Bammako. His 
stay upon the scene was short, but it is largely due to 
his influence that the Senegal-Niger Railway is a suc- 
cess to-day. At this time the natives in the interior 
were getting unruly, so in the following year Major 
Joffre was asked to take command of a column which 
was to march from Segu to Timbuktu. 

This expedition consisted of fourteen French and 
two native officers. Twenty-eight French and three 
hundred and fifty-two native non-commissioned officers 
and men, about two hundred pack horses and mules and 
some seven hundred native carriers. The Frenchmen 
and native assistants were to follow the left bank of 
the river from Segu to Timbuktu, where a Colonel Bon- 
nier was to receive them. They were expected to invite 
the native chiefs, who had not already made submis- 
sion to the French flag, to join the column and come to 
Timbuktu. If they showed themselves to be unruly, 
there was to be a fight. 



"PAPA" JOFFRE 9 

Leaving Segn on December 27th, 1893, Major Joffre 
and his party reached Timbuktu on February 12th, 
1894. Their march had not been an easy one, for the 
population of some of the villages upon the way had 
been distinctly hostile and the necessary supplies had 
to be taken by force or cunning. On several occasions, 
a number of natives, called Tonaregs, had attacked the 
expedition with great daring, and, although they had at- 
tempted to kill many of the French troops, they had 
not succeeded in their attempt. Only one French 
sergeant had been wounded. 

When nearing Timbuktu Major Joffre learned that 
Colonel Bonnier and most of his men had been sur- 
prised and murdered by the Tonaregs at Taconbao, early 
in January; a feat which had emboldened all of the 
other native tribes, and had made them eager to take 
up arms against the French. So, without waiting for 
orders or instructions from the authorities at home, 
Joffre at once abandoned all idea of returning to Kayes. 
Instead, he lost no precious moments in taking such 
measures as would enable him to deal a crushing blow 
to the natives, and thus to restore confidence to the 
peaceful population, which had begun to doubt the 
ability of the French to cope with the hostile invaders. 

For six months he and his soldiers now fought and 
chased the hostile Tonaregs, and, so successfully was 
this done, that, at the end of that time, the fighting tribes 
had been practically annihilated and the inhabitants of 
Timbuktu and of the river districts w r ere at last free 
from all danger of pillage and rapine. Communica- 
tions with the exterior were re-established and pros- 



10 FAMOUS GENERALS 

perity soon returned to the desolate regions. So well 
was he thought of at home that the appreciation of his 
conduct was publicly acknowledged by the gazetting of 
his name as Lieutenant Colonel. This was on March 
6th, 1894. 

The work in Sudan was difficult, but JofTre seemed 
to enjoy it, and, when told to report again in France, he 
was right loath to give up his labors. Still, a soldier 
has to do what he is told to do, so, returning to his 
native land, he was appointed Secretary to a learned 
body known as the Commission d'Examen des Inventions 
Interessant les Armees de Terre et de Mer, — a commit- 
tee of experts and scientists whose mission consists in the 
examination of the claims of inventors and of the merits 
of all inventions and discoveries likely to be of use to, 
and add to the efficiency of France's land and sea 
forces. 

JofTre retained this post for four and a half years, 
and, of course, gained a vast store of technical knowl- 
edge which was of much assistance to him when, later 
on, he was called to the stupendous task of whipping 
France into shape for the terrible battles with Prussia, 
for the liberty of her people. 

On November 10th, 1899, the studious and taciturn 
soldier was appointed to the position of officer com- 
manding the 5th, or Railway Regiment, at Versailles, 
and on December 23rd, 1899, was sent to Madagascar, 
that fertile spot off the coast of Africa which has been 
the property of France for so many years. Here he 
again used his engineering skill in making a system 
of defenses, and was as successful as at the chain of 



"PAPA" JOFFRE 11 

fortifications around Paris. Less than two years after 
his arrival at this distant post, Joffre had, by hard 
work, ability, and an indomitable tenacity, perfected 
a splendid system of fortifications about Diego Suarez. 
His valuable services to the mother country were of- 
ficially recognized by his promotion to the rank of 
Brigadier General, on October 12th, 1901. 

Returning to France from this African possession, the 
newly appointed general was given command of the 19th 
artillery brigade. In July, 1903, he was raised to the 
dignified position of Commandant de la Legion d'Hon- 
neur, and, shortly after this, was told to take supreme 
control of the whole corps of engineers. In March, 

1905, he was promoted to the rank of General of Divis- 
ion, but remained at the War Office until January, 

1906, when he was placed in command of the 6th In- 
fantry Division. In May, 1908, he was put at the 
head of the 2nd army corps. 

Eealizing, at this time, that war with Prussia was 
imminent, the general set about to drill the army in 
preparation for the mighty conflict which he knew would 
be soon upon the people. By word and writing he en- 
deavored to prepare the mind of the French for the war 
which all knew to be inevitable. a The French/' he 
said, " should have a tenacious purpose to win. They 
must have victory written in their very soul." 

" The material organization of an army," he added, 
" perfect though it may be ; its understanding no mat- 
ter how highly developed, will be insufficient to insure 
us a victory, if this army, strong and intelligent as it 
may have become, will lack a soul." 



12 FAMOUS GENERALS 

Napoleon the great said many a good thing, and 
one of the best remarks which he ever made, was: 
" The primordeal virtue of a general commanding an 
army is his character." 

General Joffre is a man of character, and this force 
has been felt throughout the ranks of the entire French 
army, until every soldier in the trenches, every trooper 
in the field, owns, as a part of himself, this precious 
gift. A strict disciplinarian, he became the idol of the 
army. " A well balanced mind, — a well balanced 
soul," is the verdict pronounced upon him by one of 
France's most eminent thinkers. 

Fairly tall and quite broad, the figure of General 
Joffre is massive and strong-looking. His head is large, 
his hair is thick and wavy, his eyes are deep-set and 
grayish blue. His neck is short, and his broad shoul- 
ders give him the appearance of great strength. His 
gray eye-brows are very long and bristly; his forehead 
is wide; his nose straight and fully developed. His 
lower jaw is powerful, but not brutal ; his chin round and 
clean shaven. 

Free from all vanity, simple of dress and habit, scru- 
pulously fair and strictly just, eminently sincere and 
loyal to his friends, his soldiers, and his country, Joffre 
is loved and trusted by all who know him. His sol- 
diers have a blind confidence in his ability, and thus 
— when after weeks of retreat, although exhausted and 
fatigued — they heard the voice of Joffre cry out : 
" Halt ! and Fight ! " all turned heroically and will- 
ingly to drive the Prussian invader from the soil of the 
beloved country. 



"PAPA" JOFFRE 13 

When Prussia declared war on France and her sol- 
diers crossed into Belgium, JofTre was ready. Years 
before the advance upon Paris he had selected the line 
of the river Marne as the place at which in the event of 
a German invasion a great battle should be fought. 
Here he halted the French army and here is where he 
said to his men, "Now is the time and the opportunity 
to save France ; let all advance who can, let all die where 
they stand who cannot advance ! " 

His words raised the spirits of the weary, march- 
worn soldiers, and his message sank deep into their 
hearts. 

It was the morning of September 1st, 1914, and the 
sun shone hazily down upon the great surging masses 
of men who faced each other along the slow-winding 
Marne, soon to meet in a death struggle for the mastery 
of the soil of France, and to fight the greatest battle 
of all history. Years before, Attila — King of the 
Huns — had come down victoriously from the north, 
sweeping all before him, and killing and massacring as 
he came on. He had been met by Aetius and Theodo- 
sius, who had signally defeated him, and had sent his 
greedy, ferocious host of vandals and free-booters reel- 
ing back across the Rhine. Now history was to repeat 
itself. 

Then the wild cries of barbarians echoed over the 
fair fields of France. Now the growl of great, massive 
guns; the sudden, short orders of Officers, the grumble 
of artillery wagons, and the tramp, tramp, tramp of 
thousands of hob-nailed shoes sounded above the swish- 
ing of the river. Bugles blared, horses neighed, drums 



14 FAMOUS GENEEALS 

rumbled, flags went fluttering up the roads, lancers, with 
pennons streaming, galloped past, — all was bustle, hus- 
tle, excitement — for France and Germany were to 
meet in the most awesome struggle that ever mortal 
man witnessed. The most portentous battle of all His- 
tory was to be fought out. ^o wonder that the brow 
of General JofTre was furrowed with wrinkles. 

Turning to a Lieutenant on his staff he had said: 
" The army has retreated far enough. On no consid- 
erations will it fall back of the Seine and the region 
north of Bar-le-Duc. We will fight here — to the 
Death." 

The French armies were placed in the field in the 
relation in which he deemed they would be most ef- 
fective : 

The First Army, under General Dubail, was in the 
Vosges, and the second army, under General Castleneau, 
was near ^ancy; the Third army, under General Ser- 
rail, was east and south of the Argonne in a kind 
of " elbow," joining with the Fourth army under Gen- 
eral de Langle de Gary. The ISTinth army, under gal- 
lant General Foch, was next in line, towards the north- 
east; then the Fifth army, under Franchet D'Esperey, 
joining with the little British army of three corps, un- 
der General Sir John French ; and then the new Sixth 
army, under the brave General Manoury. 

General Joffre was at the little town of Bar-sur-Aube, 
fifty miles south of Chaloss, and he there watched — 
with some concern — the outcome of the clash at arms. 
On the morning of September the fifth all of the com- 
manders received from him the now historic message: 



"PAPA" JOFFRE 15 

" The moment has come for the army to advance at 
all costs and allow itself to be slain where it stands 
rather than to give way." 

For fourteen days the French soldiers had been fall- 
ing back before the exultant Germans; the skin was 
worn off from the bottom of their feet ; their shoes were 
stuck to their toes with blood. Without rest, or much 
food, for fourteen days the French soldiers had been 
ceaselessly engaged. Now was the turn to attack. It 
MUST be settled here who was to rule France — 
French or Germans. 

Attila had found that the French were no easy men 
to vanquish. How was Yon Hindenberg to find the 
descendants of those who had driven back the boastful 
and blood-thirsty Huns in olden days ? 

The patriotic defenders of La Belle France had 
marched on scorching roads, with their throats parched, 
and suffocated by dust. " Our bodies had beaten a 
retreat, but not our heads/' says one Pierre Lassere, 
and so — when the clarion notes of the bugle called out 
" En Avant," and when the stirring words of Gen- 
eral Joffre were read to them, the faces of all the Poilus 
from Paris to Verdun beamed with joy. The men were 
worn out with fatigue and with constant fighting, their 
faces were black with powder-smoke and their eyes 
blinded with the chalk-dust of Champagne, — yet they 
roused themselves for a mighty stand and their hearts 
were filled with faith and hope. La Belle France 
should and must triumph. En avant! En avant! 

It was daybreak of Sunday, September 6th, and, with- 
out any disturbance, or bravado, a little, quiet, studious- 



16 FAMOUS GENERALS 

looking man pitched his tent near a modern chateau near 
the village of Pleurs, — some six miles southeast of 
Sezanne. He took out his glasses and raked the 
/ sky-line, — then, turning to his Aides, he said : 
" Ha, boys ! This is fine. The Boche will now turn 
tail." 

This jolly, little man — studious-looking, though ami- 
able and laughing, was General Ferdinand Foch. 

He had been assigned to the line from Sezanne to 
Camp de Mailly, twenty-five miles east, by a little 
south. The slow-moving Marne ran twenty-five miles 
north of his position. His men were in many a town 
and village in front of him, some of them in a clay 
pocket near the Marshes of St. Gond. His van was 
north of this marsh. As the little General scanned the 
horizon he could hear the guns begin to growl. 

" The 75's are barking," said he. " It soon will be 
quite interesting." 

Meanwhile General Joffre — far to the south and 
rear, had been pacing up and down behind his auto- 
mobile. He had placed Foch in the most important 
position where the Prussian Guard was to attack. He 
knew whom to trust in his vast army, and he wanted 
to have Foch in the MOST crucial point; so he, too, 
scanned the horizon with his glass and whistled a tune. 
It was THE MARSEILLAISE. 

All the Generals paced up and down and whistled, 
— then Bedlam broke loose. 

BOOM! BOOM! BOAR! ROAR! The Prussian 
artillery threw a perfect avalanche of lead into the 
French lines, and laid down a barrage. Then — with 



"PAPA" JOFFRE 17 

wild cheers of victory, the steel-helmeted Germans 
charged. As the day wore on the Prussian Guard 
drove Foch's Angevins and Vendeans of the Ninth 
Corps back beyond the marshes, and occupied their po- 
sitions of the early morning. So too — on the east 
of the line, the Bretons were hurled backward by the 
fearful rush of the invaders, and the Moroccans of the 
Forty-Second Division had to yield to the bayonets of 
the yelping German Divisions. 

Night was coming on — all along the vast line the 
French, English, and Moroccans were engaged, and 
the carnage was fearful. Joffre paced before his head- 
quarters uneasily, for it was bad news that his couriers 
were bringing him. It was this : " Our lines have 
given way everywhere. Foch is in retreat." 

True — Foch's new army had given ground almost 
everywhere. 

It was sad news, dispiriting news to General Joffre. 
Here and there an aide drew up in a panting, puffing 
automobile. Their news was not all the same — near 
Verdun the Crown Prince was being driven off, at 
Nancy the valiant D'Esperey was fighting a fierce bat- 
tle and was moving the Germans backward, on the 
north, General French with his Englishmen was hold- 
ing his own stubbornly and fiercely, but alack and 
aday — General Foch's men — those who held the piv- 
otal point were giving way. Joffre again whistled 
THE MAPSEILLAISE — he would see what the mor- 
row had to bring. 

The morning of the next day broke clear, the sun 
shrouded by the banks of sulphurous vapor which came 



18 FAMOUS GENERALS 

from the roaring, rumbling guns, belching ever a hail 
of smoke and shell. Again the Prussian Guard came 
on after the men under Foch, again they attacked 
fiercely and the battle was hand-to-hand. 

A little man — a bandy-legged man — walked out in 
front of his Headquarters in the Chateau at Pleurs, and 
made a cautious remark to his aide, who was smoking 
a cigarette. It was: 

" They are trying to throw us back with such fury 
that I am sure that means things are going badly for 
them elsewhere and they are seeking compensation." 

Could he have mounted in an aeroplane, he would 
have seen that he was quite right. Von Kluck was re- 
tiring in a northeasterly direction under the fierce at- 
tacks of General Manoury's men; while Von Buelow — 
who was in front of General Foch — was moving vast 
bodies of troops from the left of the line. In the center 
the Prussians attacked with renewed energy. Such 
vast numbers of troops were hurled against the French 
that they had to retire. On Tuesday, the 8th day of 
September, Foch had to move his headquarters to 
Plancy, eleven miles south. He had reached the river 
Anbe, behind which JofTre had said, " We cannot go." 

The right wing of Foch's army was weak — woefully 
weak — it was giving way. The wing must be 
strengthened — but all the reserves were used up — how 
was this to be done? On the left of the line was the 
Forty-second division and Foch appealed to it to save 
the day. This would leave a gap in the line, but Gen- 
eral D'Esperey was begged to lengthen out his own line 
in order to fill this hole, so that the Forty-second could 



"PAPA" JOFFRE 19 

march to the weakened right and repel the exultant 
Prussian Guard. 

It was 10 o'clock in the evening when General Gros- 
setti — who commanded the Forty-Second — was 
roused from his bed in the straw in the shell-riddled 
farm of Chapton. He was handed an order from 
General Foch, which was : " Give us aid on the right, 
or the Prussians will get through." 

The Officer sat up, rubbed his eyes, and said : " Mon 
Dien, I can do it. It is all for France." 

Immediately he bestirred himself. The Colonels of 
the different Regiments were told what must be done; 
they gave the necessary orders to their subordinates, and 
— by morning the Forty-Second was marching along 
so as to be in the line of defense, but they marched none 
too soon, for the Prussian Guards — with a colossal 
effort — had smashed through the right of Foch's line, 
and, wild with joy, were driving the Poilus before 
them. 

General Foch was smiling, but, beneath that smile 
was a heart beating with anguish. To Joffre he tele- 
graphed : 

" My center gives way, my right recedes ; the situa- 
tion is excellent. I shall attack." 

Calling his aides to him, General Foch gave the nec- 
essary orders to them — they must bear them to the 
different parts of the wavering line, and all MUST at- 
tack. By ten o'clock, upon that September day, must 
be decided who would win the Battle of the Marne — 
by ten o'clock it would be said, France rises triumphant 
from the bitter defeat of 1870 — by ten o'clock it would 



20 FAMOUS GENERALS 

be heralded far and wide — the Germans have been 
hurled back, the descendants of Attila the Hun have 
fared even as he did at Chalons. Giving his orders in 
smooth, low tones, the General turned, lighted a cig- 
arette, and went out for a walk on the outskirts of the 
little village of Plancy. His companion — Lieutenant 
Ferasson of the artillery — was one of his Staff, and, as 
they walked slowly along they discussed Economics and 
Metallurgy. 

The day was a clear one and the grumbling roar of 
the guns was interspersed with the rattle of the ma- 
chine guns, the spit, spit of the rifles, and the fierce 
cries of the fighting men. Dead and dying lay every- 
where, the ambulances were doing great and valiant 
service, but still the Prussians came on. They were 
breaking through and thought themselves victorious, 
when up marched the Forty-Second Division, right into 
the gap which the Germans believed would let them 
through to Paris. The men of this chosen Corps were 
half dead with fatigue, and their eyes — it is said — 
were blazing with such intensity of purpose, that the 
Germans were terrified when they saw these fanatics, 
thinking them spirits. At any rate they defiled into 
line, just when most needed, and blocked Von Buelow's 
way to Paris. The Prussians wavered. Then — at 
about six o'clock — they were seen to go backward. 
Hurrah ! Foch's maneuver had won the day for 
France. 

The setting sun cast shadows across the fields of the 
Marne when the news was brought to imperturbable 
Joffre : 



"PAPA" JOFFRE 21 

" Foch has them. Yon Buelow is in retreat." 

The General smiled — for the first time in two weeks. 
Again he whistled the Marseillaise. 

Night fell over the awful scene. Dead and dying 
littered the roads. Horses sprawled everywhere. Am- 
bulances dashed here and there — the great star shells 
lit up the darkness. Next morning would see who 
would control the Marne, and the men of the Forty- 
Second rested easily — they had been fired by the spirit 
of Jeanne D'Arc. 

It was now September 10th, and as the sun rose it 
shone sodden and gray upon the ranks of the men of 
the Forty-second, who, pushing onward, fighting grimly, 
entered the village of Champenoise, where they captured 
numberless Prussian officers, who, thinking that they 
had won the day, had gone to sleep snugly in wine- 
cellars. On, on went the Forty-second — and — two 
days later were at Chalons — the Prussians in retreat 
were fleeing across the Marne. On, on went the French, 
and, as the German host withdrew, they were shelled bus- 
ily by the 75's. Attila had here crossed centuries be- 
fore, his wild riders of the plains dispirited and woe- 
begone after their defeat at Chalons. 

Meanwhile, far in the rear stood General Joffre, 
stolid, rotund, imperturbable: the essence of what we 
think a Frenchman is not, and an Englishman is. 
Aides were bringing good news to him and he was 
smiling. 

" The Prussians are retreating all along the line," 
they said. " The Battle of the Marne is ours." 

And near Chalons, a little General, who had been a 



22 FAMOUS GENERALS 

teacher in the Military School, was directing the cross- 
ing of the river by the French armies. He was still 
talking Economics in his spare moments, and was jest- 
ing with his aide, and he sometimes mentioned Metal- 
lurgy. This was General Ferdinand Foch. 

Many, many years hence, patriotic Frenchmen will 
pnt up a statue to the imperturbable soldier who stood 
behind the vast lines of battle at the River Marne and 
watched the gallant Poilus battle with the Prussians 
to a fair-earned victory. It will bear the name of one 
who will rank with the great war-time heroes of France : 
Bayard, DuGuescelin, Key, Henry of Navarre, Lafay- 
ette, Jeanne D'Arc, and Rochambeau. 

But I wonder if they will carve on it " Papa " Joffre, 
or just plain General Joffre? 



THE BATTLE OF THE MAENE 

" Gott mit Uns ! " was the battle cry 

Which came from German throats, 
" Fur Macht imd Eecht und Vaterland ! " 

Came forth from Slavs and Croats, 
As thousands upon thousands, 

They crossed the river Bhine, 
To take the road to Paris, 

To make the poilus whine. 

A million gray-clad warriors, 

A million rumbling guns, 
Passed by in gorgeous panoply ; 

The war might of the Huns. 
With aeroplanes and Mausers; 

With painted camouflage, 
The conquering legions hastened on 

To lay their first barrage. 

They passed the forts of Belgium ; 

Eich Brussels, too, was seized; 
They swept on to the sea-coast 

And did what e'er they pleased. 
The gray-clad legions, steeped in death, 

Pressed onward into France, 
Where an old, stout-hearted general 

Was waiting for his chance. 

" Mon Dieu ! " he murmured pleasantly, 
" Zees Dutchmen come too fast ! " 
23 



24 FAMOUS GENERALS 

" Par Bleu ! " he chuckled quietly, 
" We'll nail them to the mast ! " 

And, not so many miles away, 
A pompous-looking Hun, 

Cried out : " O, Freiheit, Kinder ! 
We have them on the run ! " 

The German guns were rumbled up, 

And pointed to the south, 
Out belched their furious shrapnel, 

From every cannon's mouth. 
A hail of death and slaughter 

Went reeling o'er the plain, 
Where stood the very flower of France, 

Beneath the good Petain. 

Behind them, too, was " Papa " Joffre, 

His eyes were glist'ning bright, 
As he cried out : " My Frenchmen, stand ! 

And prove that Right is Might ! 
Here is the place to hold them ; 

Here is the spot to fight ; 
And the Kaiser here will soon find out 

If all his Might is Right ! " 

It was slaughter, slaughter, slaughter. 

It was tons of reeling lead. 
It was piles of bleeding poilus, 

And it was heaps of German dead. 
It was yelling, screaming demons. 

It was fiendish deviltry; 



THE BATTLE OF THE MAENE 25 

And 'twas growling, howling cannon, 
And rumbling musketry. 

It was hours of belching seventy-fives. 

'Twas miles of charging squads. 
'Twas groaning, moaning wounded, 

And thunder from the gods. 
? Twas galloping and walloping. 

? Twas pitch and hitch, and strike. 
'Twas hold your enemy by the throat, 

And stick him with your pike. 

In Berlin sat the Kaiser, 

And on his face a frown, 
Tor his vaunted power was tott'ring, 

And he felt a slipping crown. 
In Berlin walked the Kaiser 

And he cried out " Durch und schnell ! " 
But by the waters of the Marne 

They sang his swan-song knell. 

For the poilus cried out, " en avaot! " 

As Papa Joffre stood still, 
He smiled and chuckled amiably, 

As he watched them from a hill. 
He kept on smiling, smiling, 

As he murmured, " Kaiser Bill, 
You've swallowed now, you devil, 

A rather nauseous pill ! " 

" You can't get by, Old Might is Bight I 
You cannot cross the Marne ! 



26 FAMOUS GENERALS 

You cannot get to Paris 

And you cannot reach my barn! 

You've played your hand and lost it ; 

You've failed with old von Kluck, 
So you'd better go to Holland, 

Where perhaps you'll have more luck." 

'Twas at the battle of the Marne 

That Joffre won the day; 
'Twas at the battle of the Marne, 

That Deutschland lost her sway. 
So give three cheers for " Papa " Joffre, 

And give them with a will, 
For he's the boy who led the men 

Who've trounced old Kaiser Bill. 



SIR JOHN FRENCH 

THE MAN WHO LED THE 
FIRST BRITISH ARMY 



SIR JOHN FRENCH 

THE MAN WHO LED THE 
FIRST BRITISH ARMY 

DURING the Boer War the Boers were the first 
to admit the superiority of General French to 
the English officers. One of their most cun- 
ning leaders was General DeWet, who, was once asked 
how long he expected that he would avoid being cap- 
tured. The Old Fox laughed, as he replied: " It all 
depends upon whom you send after me." " How about 
General Pole-Carew ? " was asked him. " Oh, bosh," 
he ejaculated. " How about General Buller?" 
" About two years," he answered, chuckling. " And 
General French ? " " Two weeks," admitted the cau- 
tious DeWet. 

This reputation for getting what he went after had 
been well won by General French, who, although a sol- 
dier for many years, had never reached high distinc- 
tion until the fighting in South Africa brought him into 
the lime-light. Of Franco-Irish extraction, the em- 
inent leader comes of a fighting stock. On his father's 
side he hails from a famous Galway family, which had 
many soldiers and sailors among its numbers, including 
John French, who fought in the army of King Wil- 
liam, leading a troop of Enniskillen dragoons at the bat- 
tle of Aughrim, in 1689. His father was a sailor, 

29 



30 FAMOUS GENERALS 

Commander J. T. W. French, who, returning from 
his life at sea, and retiring from the Navy, settled 
upon a beautiful estate at Ripplevale, near Walmer. 
Here John Denton Pinkstone French was born on Sep- 
tember 28th, 1852, in the very year, in fact, that 
" Papa " Joffre first saw the light of day. 

Very little is known of the boy's home life at Rip- 
plevale, and, as he was the sixth child and the only son 
in the family, you can see that he grew up normally and 
not without too good an opinion of his own prowess. 
His father and mother both died while he was still 
young, so he was educated under the care of his sisters. 
One of these — now Mrs. Despard — was an extremely 
intelligent and gifted woman, so that our future Gen- 
eral had good home training. Although high-spirited 
and full of mischief, he was not a bad boy, and every- 
thing which he did was done with the greatest enthusi- 
asm. 

A person who knew the future Field Marshal at this 
time says that he was perpetually playing with sol- 
diers, and, when occasion offered itself, would fight 
over again the campaigns of Napoleon the First, whom 
he admired as a soldier and not as a man. He was, 
in fact, a normal healthy English boy, with just a 
touch of reticence and taciturnity to mark him from 
his fellows. 

At an early age this now famous warrior was sent 
to a preparatory school at Harrow, which he soon left 
for Eastman's Naval College at Portsmouth. He went 
through a system of cramming here, and at the age of 
thirteen passed the entrance examination to the navy. 



SIR JOHN FRENCH 31 

In the year following (1866) he joined the Britannia as 
a cadet, but, after a cruise, decided that sea life did not 
appeal to him as much as a life on shore. Consequently, 
at the age of eighteen, we find him leaving the navy in 
order to enter the army. He would now emulate the 
career of the great Napoleon, if the opportunity should 
present itself. 

So, we next see John French in the militia with a 
commission as a Lieutenant. Later we find him in the 
regular service as an officer in the 8th, and then the 19th, 
Hussars, wdiich were called the " Dumpies " because 
men were admitted to it who were beneath the standard 
height for the British army. Here, at once, he earned 
for himself the name of Captain " Cross Trees," as 
the result of having once been a naval man. To this 
day — among the few remaining brother officers of his 
youth — he is greeted as " Trees." French was a good 
rider, in spite of his squat and sturdy frame; he at- 
tended to his duties right manfully, and soon became 
a most accomplished officer. 

One of his closest frk>nds says of him — at this stage 
of his career — " Although he never attempted to go to 
the Staff College he was continually studying military 
works, and often when his brother officers were at polo 
or other amusements, he would remain in his room, read- 
ing Von Schmidt, Jomini, or other books on strategy. 
I recollect once traveling by rail with him in our sub- 
altern days, when after observing the country for some 
time, he broke out with : " There is where I would 
place my artillery. There is where I should put my 
cavalry," and so on — until the end of the journey. 



32 FAMOUS GENERALS 

He was interested in his profession, that was evident, 
but had, as yet, no opportunity to exhibit his talents in 
actual fighting. The chance was soon to come. 

In 1882 the regiment in which young French was 
serving was ordered to embark for Egypt in order to 
take part in the Nile expedition, which proved to be 
the turning point in his career. French was a man 
who had to wait for his opportunities, and thus, he was 
thirty-two years of age before he saw this, his first piece 
of active service. The Queen's officer — now a Major 
— was to prove himself to be an able executive and an 
excellent master of tactics in the expedition into the 
silent land, which was to end in a complete failure. 

General Gordon, an intelligent and experienced of- 
ficer, was at Khartoum, which he had reached on Feb- 
ruary 18th, 1884. In April he found himself besieged, 
and, in spite of the fact that he warned the home 
authorities of his perilous position, nothing was done 
to relieve his distress. Finally, however, the Govern- 
ment realized that to allow this General to perish at 
the hands of the Dervishes might lead to the loss of 
Egypt. With this fact fully impressed upon them, 
Lord Wolseley was instructed to relieve Khartoum at 
all costs. A flying column was thus dispatched across 
the desert from Korti to Matammeh, and thence to Khar- 
toum. With it went a part of the 19th Hussars, under 
Lieutenant-Colonel Barlow, and Major French as sec- 
ond in command. 

The column marched forward for about two weeks 
and then came in touch with the retreating enemy at 
Abu Klea. The 19th Hussars were sent forward to 




SIR JOHN FRENCH 



SIR JOHN FEENCH 33 

reconnoiter, and returning reported that the Mahdi — 
a native ruler — had drawn up a considerable force 
not far off. Beyond the Dervishes were some wells, 
and it was important that the British troops should get 
to them in order to relieve their thirst. After a con- 
sultation it was decided to fight a way through to this 
water at any cost. 

Leaving a small force to guard the camp, the main 
body was formed into a square and advanced across the 
desert in this form. As the soldiers went forward, the 
enemy opened a terrific fire upon them, yet, in spite of 
casualties, the men pressed towards the natives, haul- 
ing their guns in the center of the square, and over the 
rutted and uneven surface of the desert. 

The Dervishes did not wait for the English, but 
rushed on to the attack. An eye-witness says that the 
wild shouting of the Arabs as they advanced sounded like 
the thunder of the boiling surf. So fierce was the as- 
sault that the British square was broken, and the camel 
corps of soldiers, mounted upon the native beasts, suf- 
fered most severely. Yet, unable to pierce the center 
of the English line, the Arabs finally withdrew, and, as 
they did so, Major French cried out to the 19th Hussars : 

a Boys! Now is our chance!" 

With a cheer, the cavalry dashed to the charge, and as 
numerous shells from the light guns exploded among the 
Dervishes, the men rushed in among them with sword 
and pistol. The natives stood for a few moments — 
then broke and fled — and that night the British col- 
umn drank at the wells of the desert. 

The soldiers now rested, and, as many of the men 



34 FAMOUS GENEKALS 

were very weary, they fell from the backs of their 
camels — while asleep — their mounts, in wild dis- 
order, wandering far from them. Next morning, how- 
ever, they were collected together, and, after a hasty 
breakfast, the march was resumed. 

Open ground at length was reached, where the fol- 
lowers of the Mahdi were found to be in full strength. 
A fight was inevitable, so a barricade of camel boxes, 
saddles, and field equipment was thrown up hastily, in 
order to give protection from a forward attack. The 
Hussars were placed within the barricade, while the rest 
of the regiment — drawn up in front — was formed 
into a square in order to meet the attack of the enemy. 
With a wild yelling and shouting, the Dervishes now 
came on. 

Led by emirs on superb horses, eight hundred spear- 
men hurled themselves headlong upon the British square, 
which stolidly awaited the attack. Waiting until the 
enemy was within three hundred yards, the approaching 
natives were met with a deadly rifle-fire. Over and 
over each other rolled the foremost tribesmen, while 
those in the rear — terrified by the rapidity and power 
of the British rifle-fire — broke and fled. Within 
twenty minutes the battle was over, and, to the faint 
cheers of the British, the spearmen fled in wild con- 
fusion, leaving two hundred and fifty of their dead 
upon the field. 

Strange to relate, not a single British soldier was 
either killed or wounded, in repelling the charge. A 
stray bullet " scotched " General Stewart — leader of 
the expedition — later in the day, who, as he fell, cried 



SIR JOHN FRENCH 35 

out to Colonel Barrow: " Take care of the 19th 
Hussars. They have done well." 

The column moved forward as soon as it could reform, 
but, as the grim soldiers plodded across the desert, news 
came that Khartoum had fallen, and that brave Gordon 
had been killed by the followers of the Mahdi. Major 
French — it is said — was deeply moved by this calam- 
ity, and shed tears. With Khartoum in the hands of 
the followers of the Mahdi, the mission of the flying 
column was ended, and it must, of course, retreat. 
Surrounded by the natives, whose numbers had been 
added to by those who had been beseiging Khartoum, 
the column fell back, while General Buller was sent up 
to Gubat in order to take command. With him he 
brought the Royal Irish and West Kent regiments to 
reinforce the worn out and somewhat dispirited British- 
ers. 

General Buller saw the bad predicament in which 
the British troops had fallen and so decided to retreat. 
On February 13th he evacuated Gubat, and, falling back 
steadily, finally reached Korti, where he received ad- 
ditional reinforcements under Sir Evelyn Wood, who 
says: " There I saw Major French for the first time, 
when our people were coming back across the desert 
after our failure, the entire force depressed because 
of the death of Gordon. I came upon him about a 
hundred miles from the river — he was the last man 
of the last section of the rear guard ! We were being 
followed by bands of Arabs. They came into our biv- 
ouac on the right of which I am speaking, and during 
the following night they carried off some of our cattle." 



36 FAMOUS GENERALS 

General Buller, himself, fully appreciated the part 
which Major French played during the retreat, for he 
says : 

" I wish expressly to remark on the excellent work 
that has been done by a small detachment of the 19th 
Hussars, both during our occupation of Abu Klea, and 
during our retreat. Each man has done the work of 
ten, and it is not too much to say that the force owes 
much to Major French and his thirteen troopers." 

For two months this flying column had been occupied 
in this expedition, and it had, indeed, accredited itself 
with glory. One writer says of the British soldiers: 
" They were not men, but heroes," while Colonel Bid- 
dulph has written : " During the whole march from 
Korti, the entire scouting duty had been taken by the 
19th Hussars, so that each day they covered more 
ground than the rest of the force. Even the fierce 
Baggara horsemen appeared unwilling to cross swords 
with the cavalry." 

The part which the gallant French had taken in this 
affair was fully, appreciated by the Government, and, 
a short time after the return of the regiment, the Major 
was appointed a Lieutenant-Colonel, and second in com- 
mand of the 19th Hussars. From this time on he be- 
came so much absorbed in military duties, that, when 
Sir Evelyn Wood inspected the regiment in 1887, he 
asked : "Of what value is that man ? " pointing to 
Colonel French, and, received the reply : " He is for- 
ever reading military books. He is a hard student and 
an apt soldier. We all admire the Lieutenant-Colonel 
of the 19th Hussars." 



SIR JOHN FRENCH 37 

Our Field Marshal, in fact, had finally begun to be- 
come absorbed in his profession, just as a Physician be- 
comes absorbed in what he is doing, or a Minister of 
the Gospel in what he is saying and preaching, or one 
of you boys in how you are going to win that one hun- 
dred yard dash, or that tennis cup. He became taciturn, 
or solemn, and began to assume a rather serious mien, 
for war is a grim business and the British soldier is 
always fighting somewhere. With an empire which 
stretches around the globe, and upon which the sun 
never sets, you can well see that any man who assumes 
a responsible position in His Majesty's army has his 
work cut out for him. He always has something, some- 
where, to worry him, for some unruly tribesmen are not 
always satisfied with the stern and strong hand of the 
man in khaki, and will suddenly rebel, cut up a regi- 
ment or two, and begin to create considerable disturb- 
ance which is the business of Generals to look into, and 
to settle, if possible. 

Soon after this the zealous French became Colonel of 
several regiments, for he was sent to India and made 
Chief of Staff to General Luck, who had maneuvers of 
troops dispersed over a wide area of ground. This was 
excellent training, and at it the sturdy Irishman went 
with great enthusiasm, but, not recognizing his brilliant 
services, the Government retired him on half pay. This 
was in 1893, and he was but forty-one years of age. 
~No wonder he was depressed, and it has been said that he 
viewed his life as a failure at this time. " I am just 
in my prime, " he is reported to have remarked, " and I 
want to go on and not sit still. 7 ' 



38 FAMOUS GENERALS 

His retirement was not for long. Returning from 
India, in 1894, Sir George Luck was appointed Inspec- 
tor cf Cavalry, and, looking around for some one to 
write a revised Cavalry Drill Book, hit upon General 
French. — then a retired Colonel. So the disgruntled 
and retired soldier was recalled and installed in the 
Horse Guards for the purpose of producing such a vol- 
ume. The result was a masterpiece of precise, mili- 
tary information. In 1895 the author was advanced 
to the grade of Assistant Adjutant-General of Cavalry 
and was ensconced in the War Office, a place where he 
was never happy, as he wished to have action, and this 
was essentially a place of inaction. Yet he hung on 
to his duties, performed them to the best of his ability, 
and here he was serving when Briton and Boer began to 
clash upon the wide, arid plains of South Africa, and 
rumors of the Jameson raid stirred up the fighting 
blood of both Dutchman and Uitlander. 

The South African campaign now opened, the blood 
call went up to Englishmen throughout the world, and 
all hastened to conquer and subdue the poor, half-clad, 
illy-armed burghers upon the South African veldt. 
At the opening of the bloody affair, a good deal of dis- 
cussion was made as to who was to have the cavalry 
command in Natal. General French was not one of 
those who was spoken of with particular fervor, yet, 
very soon we find him handling the horse in the van of 
the British armies, and news began to come over the 
wires of victories by French's cavalrymen. General 
Buller had known what French could do in the Nile 
campaign, so General Buller had placed the Irishman 



SIR JOHN FRENCH 39 

in command in South Africa, and, ten days after the 
Boer ultimatum had been delivered to the British 
agent at Pretoria, French was in Ladysmith. He ar- 
rived there on October 20th, 1899, at five a. m. At 
nine a. m. he was in the saddle, and at eleven a. m. he 
was leading a column out to recapture the railway sta- 
tion at Elandslaagte. The Boers were driven away — 
after a stout little skirmish — and word was brought 
forward from Ladysmith that the garrison was sur- 
rounded and needed help. So back went General 
French — on the gallop. It was hurry up or all would 
be over with the English in the town. 

It was eight o'clock upon a summer morning that the 
cavalry — enveloped in dust — drew near the Boer 
laagers, stretching near the railway station of Elaands- 
laagte. A slight mist covered the ground, and, as it 
rose upon the still air, the enemy could be seen in large 
numbers, near the station, about a colliery building, 
and near the track of the steam railroad. The Boers 
were whooping and hallooing — their hated British en- 
emies were being cooped up in Ladysmith, all was going 
well with them. They were singing : " Down with the 
bloody Britishers." 

As they said this — poom — the Natal battery began 
to fire upon them and a shell exploded in their midst. 
Out of their shelters piled the burghers, leaving be- 
hind them a trainload of British soldiers, captured upon 
the previous night. You can bet that the Tommies 
escaped to join with their fellows in quick order. Now 
— with a blare of the bugle — the cavalry went into 
the Boer encampment on the gallop, and the men of the 



40 FAMOUS GENERALS 

veldt turned and ran. The first blood had been for 
French. Yet the Boers were only temporarily driven 
off and their long guns soon spoke from the surrounding 
kopjes. As they did so the telegraph wires began to 
tick, tick, from Ladysmith. General George White 
was speaking, and he said: " The enemy must be 
beaten off. Time of great importance. For God's 
sake bring up your men ! " 

The Boers were smart fellows and were entrenched 
on a series of high, bowlder-strewn table lands, which 
offered them excellent defense and perfect cover. Be- 
tween them and the cavalry of French lay a wide and yel- 
low patch of scrub-grown veldt. French was on a 
ridge, and, as he held it, he saw infantry, cavalry, and 
artillery coming up to his assistance. Finally his force 
numbered about three thousand five hundred men, or 
twice as many as the hidden Boers had with them. 
There could thus be but one end to the affair, and that 
would be a British victory. 

General French rode out and ordered a simultaneous 
frontal and flank attack. " The enemy are there," he 
said, " and I hope that you will shift them out before 
sunset. In fact, I know that you will." The British 
Tommies grinned. 

The soldiers advanced to clean out the Boers, and, 
when the action had fairly commenced, Sir George 
White and his staff galloped over from Ladysmith in 
order to view the affair. French approached them, sa- 
luted, and asked for his instructions. Smiling upon 
him with great good humor, the chivalrous White, re- 
marked : " Go on, French ! This is your show." 



SIR JOHN FRENCH 41 

The sky began to darken with inky clouds as the sol- 
diers advanced, and, as the Boers began to shoot, their 
positions were silhouetted against the skyline by stray 
puffs of smoke. The artillery, meanwhile, shook the 
ground with their grumbling roar as the Tommies 
struggled on towards where the burghers were hiding. 
As the roar of the guns increased, the howl and crash 
of thunder shook the skies. It was a fearful vortex of 
sound, and one of the war correspondents says that 
he found himself humming the " Ride of the Valkyries " 

— an awesome piece written by the great Bichard Wag- 
ner. Yet in spite of this diapason of sound, the Devons 

— with wild cheers — crept forward upon the sedge- 
grown veldt, always nearer and nearer to the hills in 
front, where the puff, puff, of the guns was clear and 
plain. Up eight hundred feet they stumbled and fell 
in the face of Mauser and shrapnel — up, up, always 
up and on they groped their way as many fell to rise no 
more. At length the top of the ridge had been reached 
and lo — there before them were the three guns which 
had poured shot and shell among them. They were 
silent now T , while around, in their last sleep, were ly- 
ing hundreds of Boer farmers in frock coats, and with 
sprigs of green in their hats. A smile was upon their 
faces as they lay there in windrows : beaten to the earth 
by the deadly fire of the Devons. 

Ta-ra-ta-ta ! 

The bugle's notes shrilled out a blast of triumph as 
the Manchesters, the Devons, and the Gordons — with a 
cheer — now threw themselves at the retreating burgh- 
ers, who still kept up the fighting. 



42 FAMOUS GENERALS 

What ho ! Suddenly, and without warning, a white 
flag was seen to flutter from behind a kopje, in front. 
The Boers had had a great sufficiency and wished to 
collect their wounded. French had scored a first vic- 
tory for the men from the foggy isle in the far north. 
From now on he was to be called French " The Lucky " 
and not " Old Trees." Thus ended the battle of 
Elandslaagte, which means the place where the elands 

— you've seen them in the Zoo — like to lie down. 
But some one else lay down here — and it was not an 
antelope either. 

After the battle nice things began to be said about 
this dapper little Irishman, and Julian Ralph — an 
American journalist — wrote: "He is quiet, undemon- 
strative, easy, and gentle. When you are under his 
command you don't notice him, you don't think about 
him — unless you are a soldier, and then you are glad 
that you are here." 

A soldier has said that, when towns and railway 
stations were captured, the English Tommies would find 
allusions to the English cavalryman chalked upon the 
walls. One read: 

" We are not fighting the English — they do not count 

— we are only fighting the ' French.' " 

At one farmhouse was found written upon a white- 
washed board: 

" Why are we bound to win ? Because, although we 
have only ninety thousand burghers that means ninety 
thousand Generals — but the English, though they pos- 
sess two hundred thousand soldiers, have only one Gen- 
eral — and he is French." 



SIR JOHN FRENCH 43 

And even one of those double-laced, Kaiser-ridden, 
step-straight-or-I'll-knock-you-down German officers of 
the General Staff in Berlin, when Berlin was a military 
hotbed, said of him : 

" General French's name is the most dreaded of all 
the Englishmen. He impresses his troops with his 
strong and resolute personality." 

The war, meanwhile, went merrily on and England 
found that this handful of Boer farmers could put up 
as excellent fight as could be wished. The burghers, 
in fact, were a hard lot to beat, and, as more and more 
men poured into South Africa, the time seemed to be 
far distant when the map of Southern Africa would be 
all red. General French was kept quite busy, and, as 
the Boers continued to surround Ladysmith, he and Gen- 
eral White determined to attack. It was that, or wait- 
ing painfully long to be relieved. 

On October 30th, the British filed out to the attack 
in three columns, determined, if possible, to beat back 
the advancing Boers, to put them to flight, and to save 
Ladysmith from complete envelopment. On the left, 
Colonel Carleton was to advance and seize a long ridge 
called Nicholson's Nek, some six miles north of Lady- 
smith. This would protect the British left wing, while 
on the right the infantry was to advance under cover of 
French's cavalry and mounted infantry. In the center 
the artillery was to go forward. If all went well the 
Boers would be driven out of their position, and a part 
of their force would be surrounded and captured. It 
looked like an excellent plan, but it did not work out 
as well as General White had wished. 



44 FAMOUS GENERALS 

Disaster was in store for the English columns, and, 
as Carleton's force went forward, the mnles from the 
battery bolted, leaving the guns behind, so that they 
could not be moved. Not daunted, the men went on- 
ward, breasted Nicholson's Nek in the darkness and — 
without artillery — suddenly found themselves sur- 
rounded by an overwhelming host of Boers. After grim 
fighting, the gunless column was forced to surrender. 
The central force of guns was no match for the Boer 
artillery, and it was forced to retire. On the right 
French advanced — with his cavalrymen — fought all 
day, but was also made to retreat. It became perfectly 
plain that Ladysmith would become completely invested 
by the victorious Boers, so General French determined 
to get through while there was still time for it. He 
consequently escaped by train to Pietermaritsburg, and, 
although shot at en route, was not wounded by the Boer 
bullets. French — the lucky — was having his usual 
luck. 

The British army was in a serious position, and, 
when General French went to Cape Town to consult 
with General Buller, he found that his chief was ex- 
ceedingly worried over the outlook. Sir George White 
and his force were surrounded in Ladysmith; Mafeking 
and Kimberly were both invested by the enemy, and 
a great invasion was threatened along the entire north- 
ern boundary of Cape Colony. In order to deal with 
all of these troublous situations Buller had only one 
army corps, disposed as follows: One column, under 
Lord Methuen, was advancing to the relief of Kimberly ; 
another, under General Gatacre, was attempting to hold 



SIR JOHN FRENCH 45 

in check the Boer invasion of Cape Colony; while a 
third, to be controlled by Buller, himself, was massing 
at Chievely, prior to advancing to the relief of Lady- 
smith. To General French was given the command of 
a fourth column which was to harass the burghers around 
Colesburg. 

At this work the intrepid general showed himself 
to be adept, and when — by the end of the year — 
Lord Roberts arrived upon the scene, he sent immedi- 
ately for the stolid Irishman in order to intrust him with 
a serious task : the relief of Kimberly. 

" I want you to do what Lord Methuen has failed 
to do/' said the Commander-in-Chief of the British 
forces. 

French smiled, as he answered: 

" I promise faithfully to relieve Kimberly at 6 o'clock 
on the evening of the 15th, if I am alive." 

The brilliant cavalryman set immediately to work to 
perfect his plan of attack, and, at his camp on the 
Modder river, gathered four thousand eight hundred 
men, with seven batteries of Horse artillery. He was 
about one hundred miles from the mining town of 
Kimberly, while between him and his objective, lay 
General Cronje, with a force as large as French's own. 
It was summer — the air was hot — and the arid veldt 
lay in front, unwatered and without animal life. The 
task in the fore was no easy one, and, had a man of 
less courage been there only failure would have resulted 
in an advance. The General set his square jaw and 
looked ahead of him: He would, could, and must suc- 
ceed. 



46 FAMOUS GENERALS 

In front was a pass in the hills called the Pass of 
Magersfontein, and, in order to make the Boer leader 
Cronje believe that he was about to force this in order 
to relieve Ladysmith, and not Kimberly, the English 
General sent numerous cavalry patrols to harass the 
Boer pickets stationed there. It was a bluff — pure and 
simple — but it worked only too well, for the suspicious 
Cronje hastened thither with a large command, eagerly 
expecting to be attacked in force. 

There was still another way to go forward, by Koo- 
deesberg's Drift towards the west, and here, too, the 
cavalry under Macdonald, spent a strenuous day in 
threatening to advance. This, also, was a bluff — the 
real advance was to be by Waterval Drift towards the 
east, where the Boers would have few scouts. When 
all was ready, the long lines of khaki-clad cavalrymen 
defiled to the veldt from their canvas camp, and the 
great advance on Kimberly had begun. 

As the General advanced — poom — came the sound 
of a Boer gun, and, with a resounding crash, a shell ex- 
ploded between French and his staff officers. The Irish- 
man looked quizzically around, as he remarked: 
" There are too many of us riding together. We must 
keep apart." Then he rode forward in order to recon- 
noiter the ground from the top of a neighboring kopje. 
In a few moments the Horse Artillery had the gun si- 
lenced, and, as the British troops swerved towards the 
right flank and headed for the Riet river, the burghers 
drew off in order to fight them as they were crossing. 

Now was a race for the ford. The Tommies spurred 
onward, galloping for the De Kiel's Drift, while the 



SIR JOHN FRENCH 47 

burghers — appreciating what they were after — en- 
deavored to get there first. It was a neck-and-neck af- 
fair, but the English were able to get there before the 
burghers, and, by midnight, the entire division of troops 
marching Kimberly-ward, was able to cross and bivouac 
on the right bank of the stream, pending the arrival 
of the baggage-train, left far in the rear, and plowing 
along in a sea of dust. The Boers retreated out of 
reach of shell and bullet, and, as night fell, the moon 
shone red in the sky, which was — said some — an 
auspicious omen for success. 

The heat was intense, and the scorching summer sun 
knocked out many a good, American horse, transported 
from Texas to faraway South Africa in order to help 
win the war. Over one hundred died upon that day 
alone, and as they fell to the ground, the men were 
forced to trudge along over the veldt until they reached 
some ammunition cart. Water was scarce. Wells were 
few and far between, so, when the column advanced next 
day, it had its own troubles. The horses became worn 
out, and so tired were they that the General's gallopers, 
or orderlies, who were continually traversing the 
column, in front, were unable to spur their mounts to 
anvthini> swifter than a walk. 

The river bent and swung at this place, and, in order 
to get at the Boers, the column had to cross another 
bend. Consequently it was headed towards Klip Kraal 
Drift, but, seeing this move, the Boers attacked on the 
right. The column was, accordingly, bent away from 
this crossing, and, as the Boers pursued, the force again 
headed for the Klip Drift. The burghers were non- 



48 FAMOUS GENERALS 

plussed and retreated backward, and as they did so the 
entire British army — in two divisions — Broadwood 
on the right, and Gordon on the left, went after them. 
The Englishmen crossed the river and routed the en- 
emy on the other side with little difficulty, while the 
entire supply train of the burghers fell into their hands. 
Cronje, himself, ro.de dejectedly from the scene. 

As the staff officers went through the ford, or drift, 
one of the lieutenants plunged into an eddy and caught 
some geese. He swung them onto his saddle and went 
upon his way rejoicing. When the soldiers bivouacked 
that evening a pig ran the gauntlet of the camp — 
amidst roars of laughter, even from the serious and 
care-worn General French, himself — and dodged past 
lances, bayonets, knives, sticks, boots, water-bottles, and 
swords, until caught by a frisky Tommy, who shared 
him with his friends that evening. A wagon of fresh 
fruit was also captured, and in it were many baskets 
of grapes — sweet, and not sour, as you might think. 

The Boers had retreated — that was true — but they 
kept up a fierce sniping upon every side, and with 
their keen eyesight picked off many a private. One of 
the General's Aide-de-Camps rode out to lead Lord Kit- 
chener and his staff into camp, and, although fired at 
by many a Boer marksman, he succeeded in getting 
through. 

Next day the army advanced towards Bloemfontein, 
and, scarcely had the advance begun, when a murder- 
ous fire broke out from the river, on the southwest. 
Also, on the northwest a sheet of rifle-fire blazed forth, 
and the army under French was in a current of 



SIR JOHN FRENCH 49 

cross-fire. From every kopje and hill spouted bullets. 

What was General French going to do ? 

Sweeping the horizon with his glass, as horses snort- 
ing with fear, and riderless, galloped past, he muttered 
as he squared his pugnacious jaw: 

" They are over here to stop us from Bloemfontein 
and they are there to stop us from Kimberly — we have 
got to break through." He was about to attempt a 
seemingly impossible task, — a cavalry charge, as the 
bullets spat death in his face. 

Now occurred one of the great charges in history : 

All around, in front of the British army, were the 
burghers. Crouching behind hummocks and hastily 
made breast-works they glared down upon the khaki- 
coated and dust-stained Britishers, as they sang a strange 
hymn of Dutch origin. A tornado of shell-fire and bul- 
lets rained down upon the advancing Tommies, who, 
with jaws set and faces bronzed, marched forward as 
did Caesar's veterans in Gaul. In front were the Ninth 
and the Sixteenth Lancers — Gordon in command — 
and a man of the old Scottish fighting clan. Their 
horses were in a pitiable state, because of the heat and 
dust, but, in spite of this they went on, and, pointing 
their lances straight forward, rode up the heights which 
stood between them and the spitting rifles. On, on, they 
galloped, until — before you knew it — they were right 
amongst the guns. Down went riders and horses in 
clouds of dust. Guns spat, wailing cries ascended to 
the sky, and fierce cries of " Surrender ! " " Sur- 
render ! " came from the throats of the burghers, as 
throwing down their long rifles they begged for mercy. 



50 FAMOUS GENERALS 

The Lancers ploughed through the trenches, slashing to 
right and left, while, behind them, in perfect order, 
swept the entire division. The Boers broke and ran 
pell-mell, pursued by the exultant Lancers, and as Gen- 
eral French trotted forward with his staff his eyes 
twinkled. The Irishman had again done the seemingly 
impossible. 

A halt was made in order that the artillery might be 
advanced, and as the guns barked out their slogans of 
death at the retreating followers of Oom Paul Kruger, 
the force went onward, until — in the distance — ap- 
peared the smoke-stacks of Kimberly. A weak and 
tired cheer came from the dusty throats of the British 
— Kimberly was relieved — and the heliograph went 
" spat," " spat," " spat " as it tremulously told the news 
to waiting and watching thousands. Hurray! Hur- 
ray ! The conquest of South Africa had begun auspici- 
ously. 

Well! Well! Well! About six o'clock that even- 
ing, an officer rode out of the besieged city to meet 
the soldier who had saved it. At seven o'clock, just 
one hour after General French had promised to be 
there, the Irishman entered the main street with his 
staff. Eagerly the officer from the town gripped him 
by the hand, saying: " Thank God, General, you are 
here." That night they all dined at the DeBeer's Sana- 
torium, where someone sang, with a good baritone voice : 
" God Save the Queen." 

Next morning the news was brought in: 

" Cronje has evacuated Magersfontein." 

All started up, for the old fox was crafty and he was 



SIR JOHN FRENCH 51 

apparently bent on escape. Then, a bit later, came 
word from Lord Kitchener, which was: 

" Cronje, with ten thousand men, is in full retreat 
from Magersfontein. He is moving along the north 
bank of the Modeler river toward Bloemfontein. I have 
already had a rear-guard action with him. If you — 

with all available horse will prevent his crossing the 

river, the infantry from Klip Drift will press on and 
annihilate, or take the entire force prisoners." 

Alas ! Of his five thousand troopers only two thou- 
sand could be found whose horses were fit to carry them 
in a dash to head off the fleeing Boer leader. Yet — 
to the shrill call of the bugle — they left Kimberly at 
three a. m. on February 17th, and, making straight 
for Koodoos Hand Drift, happened to steer for the 
very crossing which Cronje himself had taken. Horses 
dropped out on the way, but, almost within view of the 
cautious Boer, French and his troopers seized the Drift 
and had the burghers cut off. Lord Kitchener was 
coming up in his rear — French was in front of him — 
all that was left for him to do was to intrench and 
fight it out. So swiftly Cronje moved his army down 
the river and took possession of a long neck of sandy 
soil between Paardeberg Drift and Wolvesgral Drift. 
He was hopelessly bottled up. 

The Boer Fox lay still within his river-bed encamp- 
ment as the British foe closed slowly but surely in 
upon him on every side. The net was drawn — he 
could not get away — and, as the artillery rained lyddite 
and shrapnel into his laager, the burghers knew that 
the jig was up. Meanwhile, the Boers flocked in to 



52 FAMOUS GENERALS 

aid him from every side, but French was sent out 
to check them, while the main body kept up its con- 
tinuous hammer, hammer, hammer, at poor, beaten 
Cronje. The shells ripped and tore through his 
encampment, killing men and horses. It was a veri- 
table Inferno. No human beings could stand such 
punishment. 

At length the white flag went up. Cronje was beaten, 
yet — game to the last — he came out to deliver his 
four thousand men with ill grace. It was February 
27th, and, as the bagpipes of the Gordon Highlanders 
shrilled a reel upon the arid wastes of South Africa, 
the telegraph bore the news to every part of the civilized 
globe, bearing joy to those who sympathized with the 
British arms, and gloom to those who hoped to see the 
Boer Kepublic established. To General French and 
his cavalrymen was mainly due this timely capitulation, 
for, in the face of heat, dust, fatigue, and lack of 
water, they had headed off the Boers and had beaten 
them at their own game. Yet the war was not yet 
over and the South Africans had yet to be " rounded 
up." 

A correspondent says of General French : " He is 
perfectly accessible to anyone, but speaks very little 
when addressed. He must be a fine judge of men, for 
he has a splendid staff around him — splendid in the 
sense that they are all soldierly like himself, and are all 
active and useful. Judging from the way his men live 
in the country when they are swarming over it, he 
must be easy, as true soldiers are in those situations, 
though the discipline of the rank and file is excellent. 



SIR JOHN FRENCH 53 

You do not notice his dress, but, if you should, it would 
seem to be more serviceable than smart.*' 

That the General had a sense of humor is well 
illustrated by the following incident : 

One night he stopped in a Boer house, where he 
shook hands with each member of the family, saying 
pleasant things to them. This seemed to please them 
greatly, but one of their number appeared to be quite 
war-like, for he said : " I would be fighting you if I 
had not got consumption." 

The General laughed, as he replied : " Oh, I am 
sorry to hear that you are ill. I hope that you will 
soon get better." 

As for Cronje, his capture did not give General 
French any rest, for, upon the very day that this South 
African lion surrendered, news came that a rescue party 
was coming to his assistance and already held a hill on 
the southeast of the Modder River, which was much 
flooded by recent rains. General French thought it 
best to lead out two brigades — with their batteries — 
in order to make a reconnaissance. 

The General endeavored to ford the river — mounted 
upon a spirited horse — but when he was in the middle 
of the stream, the animal slipped and fell with him, 
flinging him into the midst of the swirling current. 
He clung to the saddle girth, and, as the charger 
struggled in mid-stream, it upset Colonel Haig — now 
the famous leader of the British army. The Colonel 
was swimming to the rescue, and, as he himself went 
down, he was swung into the branches of an overhanging 
willow-tree. The horses now plunged forward, while 



54 FAMOUS GENERALS 

Haig and French swam to shore, and, dripping yet 
determined, jumped upon fresh mounts and advanced 
across the veldt in the direction of the Boers. But 
seeing the approach of the English the burghers had 
withdrawn to a safe distance. 

" Well, how do you feel, old top ? " asked General 
French, as he scrambled to the bank. " I feel, myself, 
like a drowned rat." 

" Why — I am feeling fine," said Haig, blowing the 
sand out of his mouth. "Only my revolver won't work, 
and a detested burgher may be nearby." 

" No fear," chuckled General French, " the Boers 
are on the hike, as fast away from us as they can go." 

Gaining fresh mounts from their men, the two well- 
known military leaders now hurried after the Boers, 
but, as the Commander-in-Chief had said, it was quite 
obvious that General DeWet had no intention to remain 
quiescent and stand up to the advancing British horse. 
DeWet and Delarey — his artillery officer — escaped 
with all their guns, and, under the eye of Oom Paul 
Kruger, himself, rode safely away towards Pretoria. 
The British cavalrymen — urging their horses forward, 
unsuccessfully endeavored to catch up with the foe. 

The Boers collected at a place called Poplar Grove, 
but, remaining here only a short time, pushed back to 
Dreifontein, where French and his cavalrymen began to 
surround them. Next, the burghers dropped backward 
to Bloemfontein, but, making only a weak defense of 
this place, they again retreated, and the town sur- 
rendered on March 13th. French and his hard-riders 
rested here for six weeks, mainly to gain remounts for 



SIR JOHN FRENCH 55 

the cavalry, and, as they camped in comparative com- 
fort, their patrols continually scoured the country 
nearby, keeping in constant touch with the keen-eyed 
Boer scouts, and driving them back whenever they hit 
them. Describing the General at this time, a writer 
has said : " General French is quite the shyest man in 
the entire British army, and looks less like a cavalryman 
than anyone whom you could imagine. He is a heavy 
man, always looks half asleep — although who is more 
wide awake ? — has a very red complexion, gray mus- 
tache, thick-set figure, and is so reticent that he will 
hardly ever talk." 

While the cavalry rested and recuperated at Bloem- 
fontein, Lord Roberts was coming up with the main 
British army, and, by May the first, the troops had 
the opportunity of again advancing to the attack. The 
infantry preceded the cavalry, General French being one 
of the last to leave the town of Bloemfontein, but, over- 
taking Lord Roberts at Kronstad, they quickly came into 
action with the Boers. By a turning movement, the 
burghers were forced to surrender the town, and, as 
they dropped backward, Lord Roberts crossed the Vaal 
River with his army. French, meanwhile, was first 
at the outskirts of Johannesburg, which the British 
entered on May 31st. The Boers had decamped, were 
on their way to Pretoria, their capital, and as the British 
troops approached, also retired from this famous town. 

It was the close of the reign of Oom Paul in South 
Africa. While sad-eyed and stolid Dutch women looked 
timidly out from their farmhouses next day they saw 
the dust-stained British columns streaming by. To the 



56 FAMOUS GENERALS 

boom of the bass-drums and to the shrill tones of the 
bag-pipes, the conquerors of South Africa — the hawk- 
nosed, clear-eyed Britishers — marched with a swinging 
stride through the streets. 

" French ! " said Lord Roberts to his able cavalry 
officer, " push the Boers east by a turning movement on 
their flank ! I will follow by a frontal attack on foot." 

The cavalry-leader nodded and rode off to lead his 
dust-stained horsemen once more to the advance. 

The burghers were upon some ridges, the chief of 
which was known as Diamond Hill. They threw a 
steady stream of bullets into the British as they ad- 
vanced, but the cavalrymen dismounted, — fighting their 
way up to the summit on foot. Thus they occupied 
themselves for two full days, until Lord Roberts' men 
came up from Pretoria — struck the infantry in the 
front, and allowed French and his men to drive the 
hard-fighting farmers from their position. Unfor- 
tunately for the British the horses of the cavalry brigade 
were pretty well spent, otherwise the Boers could not 
have again escaped. DeWet made off to continue a 
desultory warfare for many months, his force splitting 
up into several bands of marauding bush-whackers. 

Enraged and discomfited by the numerous surprises 
which the British sprung upon them, the Boers often 
began sniping from various vantage points in captured 
villages and towns. But General French knew how to 
treat these fellows, as the following proclamation, issued 
at the town of Barberton, will testify : 



SIR JOHN FRENCH 57 

TO THE INHABITANTS OF BARBERTON I 

This is to give notice that, if any shooting into the 
town cr sniping in its vicinity takes place, the Lieuten- 
ant-General commanding will withdraw the Troops and 
will shell the town without further notice. 

By order, 

D. Haig, Lt. Col., 
Chief Staff Officer to Lt. General French. 
Sept. 5th, 1900. 

Needless to remark, the sniping stopped immediately. 

The Boers were now about done for, and, during the 
early part of 1901, the cavalry leader was able to clear 
the fighting farmers out of the central district of Cape 
Colony. On June 8th, he took supreme command of 
the operations of the district, and by the end of Novem- 
ber, the enemy had been driven to its northeastern and 
its southwestern extremities. In August, 1902, the 
now-famous General was able to return to England. 
Thus, unheralded, unheeded, and quietly, the fighting 
Irishman sailed to the old country, now possessing 
more Empire than ever held by Greece or Rome. 
For a second time the taciturn leader went into 
retirement, until — wakened by the booming guns in 
Belgium — he was again in action : for Great Britain 
had waked to find herself engaged in the bloodiest con- 
test of all history. Who was to lead her forces ? Who 
but the well-tried leader of the Nile campaign and the 
fighting upon the veldt of South Africa ? Who, but 
silent, ready, square-shouldered, bandy-legged General 
French. 



58 FAMOUS GENERALS 

On August 15th, 1914, the British army was across 
the channel and at its camp on the hills above Boulogne. 
On Saturday, August 2 2d, they came in touch with 
the Germans and the great fight had begun. 

The arrival upon French soil of the Commander-in- 
Chief of the British Expeditionary Force was the signal 
for a great popular outburst upon the part of the French 
people, whose enthusiasm and joy were unbounded. 
France would not have to fiffht these blood-thirstv Ger- 
mans alone, that was certain, and as, standing upon the 
quarter-deck of the scout Sentinel, Sir John French was 
recognized, the cheering was deafening. When the 
massive gray warship slipped up to the side of the 
quay, and the British General, smiling with pleasure, 
walked across the gangway, the cheering was redoubled, 
and the strains of the British national anthem were 
intermingled with that of the Marseillaise. 

At this propitious moment, the " Figaro " — a promi- 
nent Parisian paper — paid this compliment to the 
British leader: " Here he is — French — a name of 
good omen. The splendid soldier, the most eminent of 
popular leaders among our neighbors, has been placed, 
as everyone expected in Britain, and everyone hoped in 
our army, at the head of the admirable troops who bring 
their support to the cause of the right." 

And, as persons were reading this, the Kaiser issued 
the following proclamation to his gray-clad legions : 

" It is my Royal and Imperial command that you 
concentrate your energies for the immediate present 
upon one single purpose, and that is that you address 
all your skill and all the valor of my soldiers to exter- 



SIR JOHN FRENCH 59 

minate first the treacherous English, and walk over 
General French's contemptible little army." 

In spite of this insult, the British force was in the 
best of spirits. Holding the extreme left of the Allies' 
position they had the duty of repelling any frontal 
attack, and preventing any enveloping movement. 

The cavalry divisions were well in front, and on the 
22d and 23d of August these advance squadrons did 
some excellent work, some of them penetrating the Ger- 
man position as far as Soignes. But the Germans were 
coming up in force, and, on Sunday the 23d, word 
came in that they were commencing an attack on the 
Mons line, between Mons and Bray. To the right 
of the British line the French were retiring, and, met 
by an overwhelming onrush of Germans, the British 
also had to begin a retreat. This they did doggedly 
and firmly, as becomes the British character. 

A new line for the British army had been established 
by General French at Varmancl, to St. Quentin and 
Ribemont, and to this the troops fell back, their retreat 
covered by the cavalry, under General Allenby, who 
was subsequently to conquer Jerusalem. Closely fol- 
lowed by the Kaiser's best, the entire force fought, as 
they turned backwards, suffering a loss of between seven 
hundred and a thousand men. The army was slowly 
and doggedly fighting a rear-guard action — showing 
the Kaiser what that contemptible little force could ac- 
complish. Meanwhile, far to the southwest of them, 
the French, too, were falling back to the Marne, deter- 
mined to do or die near the river of that name just as 
their forebears had done centuries before, when Attila 



60 FAMOUS GENERALS 

the Hun attempted to invade the fair land of France. 
General French — keenly alive to the terrible battle 
that was raging — was watching developments with an 
eagle eye. As he rode by in his motor car, one day, 
he was greeted by a song to the tune of " D'ye ken John 
Peel," which ran: 

" D'ye ken John French, with his khaki suit, 
His belt and gaiters and stout brown boots, 
Along with his guns, and his horse, and his foot, 
On the road to Berlin in the morning." 

" Yes, we ken John French and Joffre, too, 
And all of his men of the Tricolor true, 
And Belgians and Russians, a jolly good few, 
On the road to Berlin in the morning." 

General French smiled and whirled onward. 

The Prussian soldiers fought with a complete dis- 
regard for life that was magnificent. Time after time 
they would hurl themselves against the British line 
with a force that was seemingly irresistible. But every 
shock was repulsed by a steadiness and bravery that, so 
far as one can judge, was worthy of the finest traditions 
of the British army. As one German peasant regi- 
ment after another was driven back, its place was 
taken by fresh troops. The flower of the German cav- 
alry was brought into action, only to be cut to pieces 
with fearful slaughter. The British artillery simply 
plowed great gaps in the German ranks. The British 
bayonet charges were irresistible and the fields were 
covered with mounds of dead. 

Daring deeds were often reported officially. On 



SIR JOHN FRENCH 61 

August 26th at LeCateau, the whole of the officers and 
men of one of the British batteries had been killed or 
wounded, with the exception of one subaltern and two 
gunners. These continued to fire, and came unhurt 
from the battlefield. On another occasion a portion of 
a supply column was cut off by a detachment of German 
cavalry and the officer in charge was summoned to 
surrender. He refused, and, starting his motors off at 
full speed, dashed safely through, losing two lorries. 

It was a four days of terrific fighting — by the 
29th of August General Joffre visited the English Head- 
quarters where he saw the serious predicament that 
the English troops were in, and, with a due regard for 
the safeguarding of Paris, directed the 5th Erench 
army corps to attack the German army on the Somme, 
with a view of checking the pursuit. The British 
forces, meanwhile, retired to a position a few miles 
north of a line running between Soissons and Com- 
piegne. 

General French was going ever backwards, but, true 
to his British nature, he was not downcast. He knew 
— and every one else knew — that there would come a 
time when this retreat would be turned into an advance, 
so he hummed a tune daily and hourly just to keep 
his spirits up. Of this particular time of action he 
says in his report: 

" The right flank of the German army was now 
reaching a point which appeared seriously to endanger 
my line of communications with Havre. I had already 
evacuated Amiens, into which place a German reserve 
division was reported to have moved. Orders were 



62 FAMOUS GENERALS 

given to change the base to St. Nazaire, and establish 
an advance base at Le Mans. In spite of a severe de- 
feat inflicted upon the Prussian Guard 10th, and the 
Guard Keserve Corps of the German army, by the 1st 
and 3d French Corps on the right of the 5th Army, it 
was not part of General Joffre's plan to pursue this 
advantage, and a general retirement on to the line of 
the Marne was ordered, to which the French forces in 
the east theater were directed to conform." 

So, back went the English — fighting all the way — 
giving the Germans all that they had bargained for, 
and drawing nearer to the French line along the river 
Marne. From Sunday, August 23 d, up to September 
27th, from Mons back as far as the river Seine, and 
from the Seine to the Aisne, the army under the com- 
mand of " Silent " French, was ceaselessly engaged, 
without a single day's halt or rest of any kind. 

Many documents were captured upon the German 
prisoners, and that they had changed their opinion of 
the English army was very evident. One of the letters 
found upon a dead German ran as follows : 

" We had great difficulties with the British troops. 
They have a queer way of causing losses to the enemy. 
They make good trenches in which they wait patiently. 
They carefully measure the ranges of their rifle-fire, 
and they then open a truly hellish fire on the unsus- 
pecting cavalry. This was the reason why we had such 
heavy losses. According to our officers the British 
striking forces are exhausted. The British people 
never wanted war. But in spite of this they can cer- 
tainly fight. One of our companies has lost one hun- 



SIR JOHN FEENCH 63 

dred and thirty men out of two hundred and forty." 
The German officers were apparently much impressed 
with the use the British soldiers made of cover. " They 
creep up, but you never see them," said one captured 
officer ; while another one remarked : " They are ter- 
rible fighters and never give in until they are beaten to 
death. Nothing seems to scare them." Still another 
said: " The English, in spite of their lack of training, 
are grim and desperate fighters. What the officers have 
said of them is all untrue, and even the Prussian Guard 
had difficulty in handling the fierce attacks which were 
launched against us." 

In an official dispatch, published during the last week 
of October, the Commander of the British army told 
the War Office of the British army's work in the fierce 
fighting afield, up to the 8th of that month when the 
English began to envelop the right flank of the German 
army, and the retreat was turned into an advance. So 
well was this written that the New York World called 
the General a great reporter, and so thoroughly was the 
fighting described that it will always remain as a truth- 
ful picture of events upon this momentous occasion in 
the history of the world. " ISTo one can read his re- 
ports," said a Chicago paper, " without being struck 
with his weighty lucidity, his calm mastery of the 
important facts, the total absence of any attempt at 
' effect/ and the remarkable suggestive bits of perti- 
nent description." 

The British army — after the fighting at the Aisne 
— began to be the aggressor, but as the effective leader 
we must now leave our great cavalryman, for after the 



64 FAMOUS GENERALS 

5th of December, 1915, he resigned his position, being 
made Viscount and Commander of the troops of the 
United Kingdom. He was relieved by Sir Douglas 
Haig, the Aide-de-Camp who had fallen into the Modder 
River with him many years before, and who had so 
joyously swum ashore. 

That the General was popular with his men is 
well exemplified by the following remarks from a letter 
at the front: 

" There is no side about our leader. When General 
French passes along he is just as ready to smile on 
the ordinary Tommy as on the highest officer. He 
takes a keen interest in our life in the trenches, and 
he's dead " nuts " on the officers who don't take enough 
interest in their men. He never asks the impossible 
from us, and he always acts as though he could rely on 
us to get out of a tight corner. He knows we're doing 
the best for him and the country in this war, and he 
gives us credit for it. He's not one of your showmen, 
but a hard fighter from head to toe, and he expects 
every man under him to be the same. He stops when 
he has the time just to have a chat with us for the 
sake of finding out what we think of it all and whether 
we are being properly looked after." 

Another soldier said : " The whole army has abso- 
lute confidence in General French. He is such a splen- 
didly cool leader. Nothing flurries him, and he treats 
the troops like men. When he passes along the lines 
he doesn't come looking sulky or stern, but he will talk 
as pleasantly to the ordinary soldier as to the highest 



SIR JOHN FRENCH 65 

officer. Yes, the army in France will follow General 
French anywhere." 

Shortly after French had returned to England, an 
elderly gentleman, with a white mustache, was waiting 
to cross Whitehall, when a patrol of Boy Scouts halted 
quite close to him. The gentleman smiled upon the 
lads, but their Scout Patrol Leader, taking the smile of 
approval for a sneer, promptly turned upon him a fight- 
ing face. 

" It's all very well for you to grin," he said. " We're 
doing our best for our country anyway. What have 
YOU done, old frosty whiskers ? " 

Just at this moment, a policeman happened to pass 
by, and stopping, he whispered something to the Scout 
Leader, who immediately stammered out : " Oh, I beg 
your pardon, sir, I thought — I thought — " 

" That's all right, boy," said the old gentleman, 
laughing. " Good-by, lads, and be sure to be clean 
boys." 

That good-natured gentleman happened to be: Sir 
John Denton Pinkstone French, K.C.M.G., G.C.B., 
K.C.B., G.C.V.O., D.C.L., LL.D., Commander-in- 
Chief of the British Expeditionary Force to France. 



AT BLOEMFONTEIN" 

'Twas a dusty day upon the veldt, and the sun was 
shining strong, 

And the axle-joints were screeching, like a rusty, tin- 
lined gong, 

We were swinging by, quite carelessly, with our canteens 
full of beer, 

When a blooming gun went " poom, poom, poom " and 
we heard a distant cheer. 

And we kind of thought it might be due to, 

French, French, French, 
For you know that we are always true to, 

French, French, French. 
He's our grizzled, sun-burned General, who is never 

known to talk, 
He can outride twenty squadrons and can make the 
Burghers " walk." 

So, we chirped to our cayuses, and we pricked them 

with the spur, 
And we called them, worn-out gooses, and we made the 

whip-thongs whirr, 
We broke into a canter, and we rollicked fair and free, 
And the way that we did hustle would make a " Yank " 

say, " bee." 



And old Kruger heard us coming up, with 

Fr 
66 



French, French, French. 



AT BL0EMF0NTEIN 67 

And, turning round lie cried out : " Dig a 

Trench, trench, trench," 
For the Cavalry is coming, I can hear their Sergeants 

rave, 
And they say that they will plant me, in a nice, deep 

ten foot grave." 

We neared the town of Bloemf ontein, 'twas sure a pretty 
place, 

It was fringed about with roses — with a sort of home- 
like grace, 

It had squatty white-washed houses and we thought it 
must be fine, 

When out spat a growling Gatling and its pills began 
to whine. 

But our gunners gave our own machines a 

Wrench, wrench, wrench, 
And, wheeling them, they turned the crank with 

Crench, crench, crench, 
And our sullen, leaden missiles were soon hurling 

through the air, 
Gad ! They made the Colonel grumble as his mules be- 
gan to stare. 

But the Boers were bent on fighting, and they raked our 

column hard, 
They made the kopjes grumble, and our limbers soon 

were scarred, 
They sniped from door and window, they worked out 

to our flank, 



68 FAMOUS GENERALS 

And their barking, larking Number Nines went " spank, 
spank, spank." 

But some one in the rear cried : " Boys, don't 

Flinch, flinch, flinch, 
Just remember lads you're fighting here, with 

French, French, French. 
No matter how they grill you, no matter how you fare, 
The grim old boy is watching you, so what, boys, do you 
care? 

So, we wheeled out into squadrons, it was a sight to see, 
And we charged into that hornet's nest, just like a 

buzzing bee, 
We scattered those brave Burghers, like scud before a 

gale, 
But, though they ran, few could escape our deadly 

leaden hail. 

And as we raced and chased, our hoofs went 

Clench, clench, clench, 
And as we stabbed and struck, our foes yelled: 

" French, French, French," 
For they knew who now was fighting, and they didn't 

care to stand, 
Before the man from Ireland, with that smile both 
broad and bland. 



KING ALBERT OF BELGIUM 

THE KULEE WHO " CAME BACK " 



KING ALBEET OF BELGIUM 

THE RULER WHO " CAME BACK " 

THERE was a pugilist once in the United States 
who retired from the ring because he thought that 
he was too old for fighting and that his muscles 
had outlived their usefulness. His friends succeeded in 
getting him to fight just one more battle; this time with 
a lanky negro. They thought that he could " come 
back/' but they found, and he found that he could not do 
so. But there was a King of a little country in Europe 
who was driven from it, but who said that he would 
" come back " and rule it again. He succeeded in doing 
so. He " came back " with a vengeance. 

When the great war broke out, Belgium was ruled by 
a young man who was the nephew of King Leopold of 
Belgium, a keen, crafty statesman, who was more in 
love with making money than in making his subjects in 
far-away Africa happy. This young King was brave 
and he was a fighter, so, when the vast German army 
crossed the frontier of his country and offered him 
peace and non-molestation if he would let it through, he 
replied that there could be no peace and that he would 
defend his Kingdom to the last man and the last dollar. 

For some years the King of Belgium had suspected 
that the Germans would cross through his country when 
they attacked France, so he had strongly fortified the 

71 



72 FAMOUS GENERALS 

town of Liege — directly on the border between Ger- 
many and Belgium. A ring of forts surrounded the 
ancient city — forts which were thought to be prac- 
tically impregnable — and a force of about twenty-two 
thousand five hundred was there to defend the fortress 
and the beautiful town. Against these forts and men 
one August evening in 1914 advanced a vast German 
army under General Von Emmich, consisting of 208,000 
soldiers with siege guns and light and heavy artillery. 
The Kaiser had ordered his general to take the place 
at any sacrifice. 

As the sun set peacefully on the evening of August 
3d, the forts were no more conspicuous than usual 
amidst the picturesque surroundings of city and wooded 
dells. There was little in the landscape to suggest a 
ring of crouching soldiers, ready to spring at the word 
of command. The peaceful folk of the town listened 
to the music of the great St. Barthelemy chimes, little 
thinking that these soft-toned minstrels next day would 
have their throats muffled by the roar of thousands of 
growling cannon. Indeed, upon that close, hot evening, 
the fields and woods which surrounded Liege seemed to 
contain nothing more dangerous than fluttering mag- 
pies and twittering swallows, which swung through the 
air in graceful curves. Xo serious shadow of coming 
evil fell across the quaint hills which echoed with the 
lowing of the cows and tinkling of their bells. 

The Kaiser — sitting back in pompous pride in 
Berlin — had said, with a grandiloquent wave of his 
hand : " I can sweep through Belgium as easily as I 
can wave my fingers aloft." So, when he decided to 



KING ALBERT OF BELGIUM 73 

strike at France through little Belgium, he expected 
his men to carry all before them by sledge-hammer 
blows. In mass formation his soldiers were supposed 
to advance, while those at home said, " What care we 
for the cost, we wish results ! " And those abroad an- 
swered with the old adage : " Whom God decides to 
ruin he first makes mad." 

The Germans were swelled with pride. The Kaiser 
cared nothing for a paper which had been signed by 
representatives of his country, with representatives of 
both France and England, guaranteeing the neutrality 
of Belgium; he would conquer first and talk about 
treaties afterwards. " It • is my Imperial and Royal 
intention," said he, on the eve of the battle of Liege, 
u to give consideration to the wishes of God in regard 
to Belgium, when I shall have executed my Imperial 
and Royal will in regard to France and the contemptible 
English." 

The sun went down in a blaze of reddening glory, 
that evening of August 3d, and next morning a deep 
gun boomed out a warning note. Immediately a hun- 
dred — nay, a thousand — guns answered, and, as gray- 
clad columns of troops leaped from their hiding-places 
for the assault upon Liege, the huge guns in the sup- 
posedly impregnable fortresses boomed their growling 
reply. 

Liege was surrounded by twelve isolated forts which 
had been laid out by the celebrated Brialmont. They 
were neither connected by field works nor had they 
been kept up to date, as had the forts at Verdun and 
Belfort. Belgium mobilization had been ordered on 



74 FAMOUS GENEBALS 

August 1st, and had been completed August 6th. Some- 
thing more than one hundred thousand men had been 
concentrated behind the Gests River. In command was 
Albert, the King, with headquarters established at Lou- 
vain. 

The 3d Division of the Belgian army and two 
brigades of the 4th Division occupied the ground be- 
tween the forts. As the hordes of Germans came on, 
the patriots met them with a death-dealing fire which 
piled up the dead and dying in heaps. Still, shoulder 
to shoulder and rank on rank, they came on in mass 
formation, while the artillery belched a hail of shot 
and shell upon the sunken forts of Belgium's frontier 
city. 

" As line after line of the German infantry advanced 
we simply mowed them down," says a Belgian officer. 
" It was terribly easy, and I turned to a brother officer 
of mine more than once and said : ' Voila ! They are 
coming on again in a dense, close formation ! They 
must be mad ! ' They made no attempt at deploying, 
but came on, line after line, almost shoulder to shoulder, 
until, as we shot them down, the fallen were heaped 
one over the other, in an awful barricade of dead and 
wounded men that threatened to mask our guns. I 
thought of Napoleon's saying, ' It is magnificent but it 
is not war ! ' No, it was slaughter — just slaughter. 
Of course we had our own losses, but this was slight 
compared with the carnage inflicted upon our enemies." 

" Curse these stupid Belgians ! " said the German 
leader. " Curse them for holding us back ! Bring up 
more of our men ! " 




KING ALBERT 



KING ALBERT OF BELGIUM 75 

The gray-clad German horde swept down upon the 
thin, blue line at Liege. They flanked the stout-hearted 
patriots and nearly surrounded them before they re- 
treated. For — seeing that all was lost save honor — 
the followers of the King, who dared to fight the mailed 
might of Germany, at length fell back to the one hun- 
dred thousand Belgian troops in the rear. The forts 
were surrounded by a wall of fire, and, bringing up huge 
siege guns, the advancing Germans threw tons of leaden 
hail into those iron cupolas, supposed to be impregnable 
against assault. By the evening of August 7th, or 
two days after the attack had been commenced, the 
Germans had taken full possession of the town, but the 
forts still held. 

On August 10th Liege was practically in German 
hands, but two of the iron casements were spitting a 
return fire. On August 16th the last fort fell, but the 
word of the stubborn defense had been heralded around 
the world where every one cheered the heroic defenders 
of Belgium's soil. " Hurrah, for little Belgium ! " was 
heard on every side. " Hurrah ! Hurrah ! " 

The King of the Belgians was with his troops lying 
between Diest and Namur. Eagerly he waited for news 
of Liege, and sorrowfully he heard of the awful butchery 
of his heroic men. Then, facing the onrushing legions 
with grim determination, he decided to make the Kaiser 
pay dearly for this violation of his Kingdom. On 
August 12th there was sharp skirmishing at Haelen; 
on August 13th the last masses of German infantry 
began to envelop the thin line of Belgians on either 
flank, so, on August 18th the Belgian leader ordered a 



76 FAMOUS GENERALS 

retreat to Antwerp. He could not fight a foe that out- 
numbered him six to one. 

The Germans were exultant, for everything was go- 
ing as they wished, and, advancing upon Namur, the 
forts which defended this fortress were soon under the 
terrific pounding of their cannon. In vain the gallant 
King pleaded with his troops to hold on, nothing could 
withstand the iron hail which the big guns threw into 
the beautiful Belgian city. Brussels, the capital, had 
been captured with no resistance, and now ^N"amur, also, 
had to succumb. On August the 23d twelve thousand 
of the King's troops retreated towards the seacoast, 
while the Kaiser's flag flew in the streets of the once 
proud city. Belgium, weak and bleeding, had been 
crushed beneath the iron heel of the conqueror. 

En Avant! 

This cry was waking the quiet villages in France 
as the French legions gathered for the impending at- 
tack, but there was no similar cry in Belgium, for 
those who wished to withstand the crushing avalanche 
were simply powerless. Great superiority of numbers 
made it simply impossible to fight upon equal terms, so, 
wistfully and eagerly, the King looked backward to the 
seacoast, where the English were disembarking troops 
for his assistance, and just as eagerly he looked south- 
ward where the French also were swarming towards 
the land which once had been the proud possession of 
the nephew of Leopold the avaricious. 

The Germans swept on to the Marne, where, as 
you know, the French stopped their advance. The 
Belgians, meanwhile, dropped back doggedly to the sea- 



KING ALBERT OF BELGIUM 77 

coast, fighting all the way and taking as heavy a toll 
of the invaders as they could with them; in fact, right 
among them was their spunky King, who, with a stub- 
bornness and pride that was quite British, refused ab- 
solutely to stop fighting. He was like a game rooster 
in this land of turmoil which has been called the cock- 
pit of Europe, and he fought like one. 

After the Germans had retreated from the Marne 
to the Aisne, they decided to take Antwerp, a city of 
such strategic importance that Napoleon once said: 
" Antwerp is a pistol aimed at England's heart." Sur- 
rounded by a ring of forts at a distance of about twelve 
miles from the city, the doomed stronghold could offer 
a serious obstacle to the German advance. The Bel- 
gian army, however, had been already so badly cut 
to pieces that only a scant twenty thousand men gar- 
risoned the town and its defenses. In spite of the 
assistance of eight thousand British marines and blue- 
jackets, sent to their relief by Winston Churchill, Eirst 
lord of the Admiralty, Antwerp fell, and four hundred 
thousand men, women, and children joined in a mad 
rush to escape from the terrible Huns, who, at the 
towns of Louvain, Vise, and Termonde, had perpetrated 
such atrocities upon the simple inhabitants that all 
feared the ruthless invader. Panic-stricken they 
rushed to Ghent, to Flushing, and into Holland. The 
Belgian troops were seized by a panic and fled; so the 
victorious German army marched unopposed into the 
once rich and populous city. 

The King and his men had good reason to be dis- 
heartened. Yet all rallied on the banks of the sluggish 



78 FAMOUS GENERALS 

Yser, and, amidst a network of canals, determined to 
fight desperately for the retention of the last bit of 
their native soil left to them. The Belgian army, about 
fifty thousand strong, was now on the left of the line 
opposed to the Germans, the British being next and the 
French farthest south. They fought like demons, in 
marshes, sand-dunes, and canals. For weeks the fight- 
ing waged here without much advantage to either side, 
and thus for two years Germans and Belgians struggled 
in about the same positions, first one side gaining a 
slight advantage, and then the other. 

After months of serious raiding along the Yser and 
about Ypres, the Belgian troops were intrenched in 
an apparently immovable position upon the last strip 
of Belgian soil. The Kaiser's wish to annex Belgium 
was, for the time being, lost. Calais was still in the 
hands of the Allies ; Dunkirk and Boulogne were also 
theirs. Yet all Belgium, save thirty-five square miles 
in its extreme corner, was held by the Kaiser's troops. 
Antwerp, Brussels, and Ghent were ruled by Prussian 
officers and paid tribute to the German war chest. 

Still, the King never lost hope or his courage. When 
formal request had been made of him for permission 
to move the German troops through his territory, with 
guarantees of protection of property and life, and with- 
drawal of military occupation, after the war, he had 
replied : 

" Belgium is a nation, not a highway ! " 

The country was small and weak, yet it was united 
behind him. 

He had told of these German propositions to his 



KING ALBERT OF BELGIUM 79 

Parliament, and had asked his people, " Are you deter- 
mined at any cost to maintain the sound heritage of 
our ancestors ? " 

To this the entire chamber had burst into a roar, 
and cries of " Yes ! Yes ! " arose. Even from the side 
where the socialists sat came the words : " At any cost ; 
by death if need be ! " 

The King stuck to his men through the long weary 
days of winter, through rain, through snow, and through 
sleet. Grim, silent, taciturn, determined, he kept up 
the morale of his soldiers by constantly appearing among 
them in order to cheer them on. And his wife, too, 
stood by him through thick and thin, hoping against 
hope, that at last the Allies would be sufficiently strong 
to push back the awful invader, and to at length rescue 
the Kingdom of Belgium. That time was to come. 

Gradually, clearly, plainly, it was evident that the 
German lines on the Western front were weakening. 
America's entrance into the war had made the Allied 
troops superior in numbers to the Germans, and in 
addition, the morale of the French, English, and Bel- 
gians had been greatly strengthened by the additions 
from the United States. The Germans began to with- 
draw from Ostend on the coast, their submarine base, 
from Zeebrugge and from Dixmude. Slowly but surely 
the English and the Belgians pressed after the retreat- 
ing Hun, and a wonderful light of triumph shone in 
the eyes of the King of the Belgians, for he realized 
that, not like the pugilist who had endeavored to " come 
back " and could not do so, he was really going to 
accomplish that in which he had failed. 



80 FAMOUS GENERALS 

All observers speak of the unfailing courtesy, con- 
sideration, courage, and forbearance of the Belgian 
King. He was the loneliest man in all of Belgium, it 
has been said, but a soldier-comrade of the people, and 
always a man. Straight and fair, with fine blue eyes 
that look directly at you when speaking, the King im- 
presses everyone with his reticence and sadness. His 
voice is low. He is so shy that the color goes and comes 
swiftly in his face as he talks, and he is as careful of 
his people as he is of his own children. 

A writer says of him: 

11 On a misty spring day sixty men in their lines 
stood facing the sea in front of a plain brick villa. 
The offices were dreary, the men groomed beyond rec- 
ognition, with rifles shining and the Yser mud scraped 
from their uniforms and boots. They waited the com- 
ing of the shy gentleman — their King. Soon he came, 
in dark uniform, gloves, and cap with several bands of 
gold braid adding inches to it. I watched him pin on 
each man a decoration, some blue, some garnet, and 
noticed with what concern and gentleness he talked to 
each man, asking questions, listening courteously. He 
is to his people what he is to his children, a father who 
cares that they suffer. Then, on the lonely beach of 
the last strip of his land, he paid tribute to his soldiers, 
individually, as man to man." 

Yet this King lived to see the day when he could 
leave that strip of land behind him and could advance 
into his own country. As the Germans slowly retreated, 
he and the Queen re-entered Bruges, Louvain, and fi- 
nally Brussels, where they were met with tears and re- 



KING ALBEKT OF BELGIUM 81 

joicing by the saddened people who had suffered much 
under the iron fist of the military machine. The crowd 
cheered for Albert, their Sovereign, who, mounted upon 
a prancing horse, rode slowly down the cobbled streets 
of his capital. How his heart must have thumped 
with joy, for he, indeed, was the saddened ruler who 
had returned to his own again — he had really " come 
back," in spite of obstacles which seemed to be insur- 
mountable. 



THE FOKTS AT LIEGE 

A long, low mist hung o'er the moor, that day of 
Belgium's doom, 

A magpie screamed from a tasseled top, in the glint of 
the silvery moon. 

The whining cry of a screech-owl spoke from the dark- 
ness o'er the land, 

Which lay there quietly helpless in the grip of the 
Kaiser's hand. 

Day dawned — a deep-toned growl of hate came forth 

from a hidden gun. 
Day dawned — an ominous, sudden roar sprang up 

'neath the redd'ning sun. 
Then out boomed the War-King's challenge, and on 

come his million men, 
Shoulder to shoulder — rank on rank — through 

thickets and fern-filled glen. 

Ah 'twas rolling fire, 'twas withering lead, that fell on 

the sleeping town; 
It was rumble and roar from the mortar's mouth, and 

death from the gatlings brown. 
It was bursting shell and crumbling wood ; 'twas shrieks 

and wails of pain, 
As the gray-clad legions clambered on, stamped with the 

mark of Cain. 

The gray-clad legions clambered on, but they met a 
ring of fire, 

82 



THE FORTS AT LIEGE 83 

The war-mad Germans stumbled on, but they winced 

at a nation's ire, 
Again and again they charged and bled, again and again 

they cheered, 
But the Prussian hosts were torn and rent, as the 

battle's goal was neared. 

First fell one fort — 'twas torn to bits, and only the 

dead were there, 
Then fell the earth-works, what could men do in the 

grip of this Prussian bear? 
The big guns then were hurried up ; they spat out their 

tons of steel, 
And the greatest of all the Belgian forts was seen to 

bend and reel. 

It reeled — it sagged in a hell of smoke ; but it stood 

till all were dead 
Who'd manned the frowning casements and worked at 

the mortar's head. 
With the cry of Attila, the Hun, the Kaiser's men swept 

on, 
But a chorus of hate throughout the world, arose on that 

Autumn morn. 

Oh, noble forts, you held out well, we salute your 

crumbling walls, 
Oh, noble forts, and noble troops, to you the War God 

calls, 
To you the Valkyries hasten. For you their arms are 

wide, 
For you stood by your guns like heroes of old, and like 

a wolf in his lair you died. 



FERDINAND FOCH 

COMMANDEK-IN-CHIEF OF THE ALLIES 



FERDINAND FOCH 
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE ALLIES 

NAPOLEON THE FIRST, master tactician and 
fearless gambler with fate, once made a very 
shrewd remark. It was: 

" In warfare men are nothing ; a man is everything. 
It was not the Roman army that conquered Gaul, but 
Caesar. It was not the Carthaginians that made armies 
of the Republic tremble at the very gates of Rome, but 
Hannibal ; it was not the Macedonian army which 
marched to the Indus, but Alexander; it was not the 
French army that carried war to the Weser and the 
Inn, but Turenne; it was not the Prussian army that 
defended Prussia during seven years against the ten 
greatest Powers of Europe, but Frederick the Great." 

This maxim was seen to be as true to-day as in 
Napoleon's time, when, after four years of furious 
fighting, great losses, and serious sacrifices, the Allies 
turned to Ferdinand Foch as their leader, and accepted 
the French General as their Chief. 

Foch was born at Tarbes, near the Pyrenees Moun- 
tains on October 2d, 1851. Thus, he was sixty-six 
and a half years of age when he came to be selected 
as the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied forces. His 
father, of good old French stock and a very modest 
fortune, was a provincial officer whose position was 

87 



88 FAMOUS GENERALS 

similar to that of a Secretary of State of one of the 
many United States. Tarbes was the capital of the 
department of France called the Department of the 
Upper Pyrenees. The mother of the great soldier was 
named Sophie Dupre, and she was born at Argeles, 
some twenty miles south of Tarbes, near the borderland 
of Spain. 

Napoleon the First was accustomed to reward those 
who fought and worked for him, and had, consequently, 
made the father of Ferdinand Foch a chevalier of the 
Empire. This was because of his ardent aid in the 
war with Spain, or Peninsular War, in which the 
French were eventually well trounced. However, the 
young Ferdinand Foch had a great passion for the 
Emperor, even from his earliest years, and we learn 
that, when a small boy, he would frequently get his 
father to relate to him the story of the career of the 
brilliant Corsican, sometimes called Napoleon the 
Great. 

Tarbes is a very ancient city and now has some 
thirty thousand inhabitants, but when Ferdinand Foch 
was a little boy it had less than fifteen thousand men 
and women. Under the Romans, Tarbes was a promi- 
nent city of Gaul, yet nothing of particular importance 
happened here in those ancient times, and not until 
after the battle of Poitiers in 732 — when the Saracens 
fell back after the defeat by Charles Martel — was 
there any disturbance at, or near, this peaceful town. 

At this particular time, a valiant and venturesome 
priest called Massolin, hastily assembled many of the 
men who lived in the vicinity, and, with their assistance, 



FEBDINAND FOCH 89 

he gave the retreating Saracens a good drubbing — the 
battle lasting for full three days. At the end of this 
time, the retreating Saracens disappeared across the 
Pyrenees in a cloud of dust, leaving many an invader 
behind to enrich the soil of this farmland, which is now 
called the Heath of the Moors. 

Forty years of peace now rolled past, and then again 
the clarion notes of the war-bugle sounded across the 
green fields, as Charlemagne the Great rode past with 
his twelve faithful Knights on their way to Spain to 
fight the Moors, But the men of dark complexions 
were more of a nut to crack than the great Charlemagne 
had expected, and, after numerous skirmishes and bat- 
tles, the German invaders were defeated : haggard, war- 
worn, and dispirited, they fled across the Pyrenees, 
followed by the exultant Moors with derisive shouts of 
defiance. 

Over the mountains they went, and there — high 
up amongst the clouds — almost ten thousand feet in 
the air, is the Breach of Roland, named after a wild 
young French knight who, unable to cross because of 
his enemies, cut his way through a chasm some two 
hundred feet wide, three hundred and thirty feet deep, 
and one hundred and sixty-five feet long. Across this 
dashed the intrepid warrior, and, spurring his horse, 
he leaped to the French side of the chasm, leaving the 
impress of the iron-shod foot of his charger in a rock. 
Here it can be seen to-day by you should you but go 
there and be in sufficiently good training to make the 
climb. 

On the field of the Moors at Tarbes is a monument 



90 FAMOUS GENERALS 

to valiant Massolin, and near the pass to the mountains 
is a bronze image of Koland the Impetuous: more 
famous in death than in life, and an ideal of valor for 
the chivalrous youths of France. With these two monu- 
ments nearby grew up young Foch, and, with the tra- 
ditions of his fighting ancestors dinned into his ears 
by many a town scribe, do you wonder that he breathed 
of battles when even a small boy, and that he was 
impregnated with the ideals of chivalry. 

Young Ferdinand learned early to ride the spirited 
horses in the vicinity and is now an ardent and in- 
trepid horseman. He had one sister and two brothers, 
and they were most piously reared. At the college of 
Tarbes the future Marshal began his training, and this 
was in a venerable building, over the portal of which 
was the following inscription in Latin: 

" May this house remain standing until the ant has 
drunk all the waves of the sea and the tortoise has 
crawled round the world." 

Here the young French lad learned to read and 
write, and here he became conspicuous for his earnest- 
ness and diligence. At twelve years of age, his pro- 
fessor of mathematics thought so highly of him that 
he remarked : " He has the stuff of a poly technician," 
and about this time he read a history of Napoleon, in 
Thiers' " History of the Consulate and the Empire." 
Fired by the glowing description of this prominent 
Frenchman, he determined to himself to endeavor to 
merit the praise of his countrymen, should the opportu- 
nity ever present itself. 

About the year 1866 the family of the General moved 



FEEDINAND FOCH 91 

from the ancient and historic Tarbes to Rodez — almost 
two hundred miles northeast of the pleasant town of his 
birth. Here the father of the Marshal was appointed 
paymaster of the Treasury, and here the young Ferdi- 
nand continued his studies, and, later, when they emi- 
grated to the city of Lyons he entered the college of St. 
Etienne. In 1869 the great soldier went to the Jesuit 
College of Saint Clement at Metz, where he was given 
the grand prize for scholarship by unanimous vote of 
his fellow students. He had been here but a year when 
the Franco-Prussian war began, and, with true patriot- 
ism, the youthful Frenchman enlisted for the duration 
of hostilities. Joining the Fourth Regiment of In- 
fantry, he was sent to Chalon-sur-Saone, and, after the 
capitulation of Paris, was here discharged, in January, 
1871. He had not distinguished himself. 

True, young Ferdinand had not distinguished him- 
self, but he had learned one great lesson and this was: 
LEARN TO BE PREPARED ! GERMANY WILL 
STRIKE AGAIN ! He could not do anything at this 
time to save France from humiliation, but he deter- 
mined to help France so that she should not again suffer 
such distress. 

At Nancy, where the young soldier now was billeted, 
a big, fat German General called Manteufel had his 
Headquarters, and here he delighted in taunting the 
conquered French, by having his military bands play 
" The Retreat." The French hung their heads in 
shame, but young Ferdinand Foch hung his head, 
listened in distress, and took his examinations for the 
School of War, irrespective of what these bold invaders 



92 FAMOUS GENERALS 

and conquerors were doing. The undiplomatic Man- 
teufel finally went away jeering, and forty-two years 
later, a new commandant came to Nancy to there take 
control of the Twentieth Army Corps, whose position 
here — guarding the Eastern frontier — was consid- 
ered to be the most important to the safety of the nation. 

Now, what did this new commandant do ? 

He immediately ordered out the band of all six regi- 
ments quartered in the town and said to the band- 
masters : 

" Fill the town with the strains of the ' Marche Lor- 
raine ' and the ' Sambre et Meuse ' ; we want to drown 
out the unpleasant memories of other days." 

This was on Saturday, August 23d, 1913, and Nancy 
will never forget those airs. Soon the German guns 
were booming on the Nancy line, and the French were 
defending that town again against assault: this time 
to be unsuccessful. 

The commandant who had ordered these bands to 
play was no other than Ferdinand Foch. He was get- 
ting even with the Boche. 

Entering the School Polytechnic, Foch there dis- 
tinguished himself by diligence and aptitude for his 
tasks. Here were many young men, and among them 
one Jacques Joseph Cesaire Joffre who was to dis- 
tinguish himself later at the battle of the Marne. 
Joffre graduated in 1872 and went to the School of 
Applied Artillery at Fontainebleau. Foch left the 
Polytechnic about six months after the great Joffre had 
graduated, and also went to Fontainebleau for the same 
training that Joffre was taking. Both were tre- 



FERDINAND FOCH 93 

mendously in earnest and were hard workers. Young 
Ferdinand graduated third in his class and, departing 
immediately for Saumur, there learned not only how 
to direct cavalry operations, but also how to handle 
men. In 1878 he went to the Tenth Eegiment of Ar- 
tillery at Eennes as Captain, and there he remained for 
seven years. 

The career of the great General from now on was 
characteristically methodical and according to rule. 
After remaining at Rennes for a full tour of duty, 
he was moved to Montpellier for a four years' stay. 
Raised to the rank of a Staff Officer, he was next trans- 
ferred to Paris, in February, 1891, as a Major on 
the general army staff. About the time that Marshal 
Joffre went to the Soudan, in order to build a railway 
in the Sahara desert, Foch went to Vincennes as com- 
mander of the mounted group of the Thirteenth Ar- 
tillery. On the 31st of October, 1895, he was made 
Associate Professor of Military History, Strategy, and 
Applied Tactics at the Superior School of War. He 
was now forty-five years of age and was rated as a very 
competent officer. He was soon to make a wonderful 
reputation as a great teacher. 

At the School the future Marshal made the men who 
sat under him love their work for the work's sake and 
not for the rewards which they hoped to obtain. He 
fired their brains with a love and ardor for the military 
art which made them feel that, in all of life there is 
nothing more worth the doing, or so worth while, as 
the knowledge of how to defend one's country when she 
needs to be defended. 



94 FAMOUS GENERALS 

A French officer says of him: 

" Many hundreds of Officers — the very elite of the 
General Staffs of the army — followed his teaching 
and were imbued with his lofty spirit; and, as they 
practically all, at the beginning of the war, occupied 
high positions of command, one may estimate as he 
can the profound and far-reaching influence of this 
one grand spirit." 

In times of peace he gave his students an enthusiasm 
for preparedness, when the cry, on all sides, was for 
disarmament and return to more peaceful attitudes. 
At the beginning of his celebrated course of lectures 
on tactics, he always admonished his scholars with the 
words : 

" You will be called on later to be the brain of an 
army. So I say to you to-day: Learn to think." 

In his opinion, an able officer is one who can take 
a general command to get his men to such and such a 
place, and to accomplish such and such a thing, and 
so to interpret the command to his men that each and 
every one of them will, while acting in strict obedience 
to the orders, use the largest amount of personal in- 
telligence in accomplishing that which he has been told 
to do. 

So, with word and pen, the mighty Foch labored 
with his students, knowing of the German menace, know- 
ing of the German power, and, with full knowledge of 
their great masses of troops which could be moved by 
the nod of the Kaiser. Zealously he labored so that 
when Germany should make her next assault on France 
Ids own country might be equipped with hundreds of 



FERDINAND FOCH 95 

officers who would know of Germany's weak points of 
attack and would be prepared to turn her rashness into 
defeat. 

When the war broke out and the hordes of gray- 
clad Germans swarmed across the Belgian border to 
crush their little state and rush upon Paris, the bril- 
liant French leader was at Nancy, in command of the 
famous 20th Army Corps. As the news was flashed 
that the Boche was at length advancing, he remarked: 
" Well, let us go to meet them as we have so often 
planned to do. Use, in fact, plan number forty-one." 

It is said that, at the beginning of the Franco- 
Prussian war, in 1870, the great Field Marshal von 
Moltke — Chief of the German Staff — remarked, when 
he learned that war had been declared, " Use plan 
number seven," and then tucked a paper away in a 
certain pigeon-hole on his desk. In other words, for 
years the German staff had been planning numerous 
methods of entering France — upon the declaration of 
war — and the advance of the French toward Sedan 
made it necessary to use plan number seven. 

But now there was a man upon the French staff 
who was as keen, as intellectual, as mathematical as 
General von Moltke. He had worked out — years be- 
fore — schemes for meeting the invasion of the country 
by the Germans; expecting them to come across the 
French frontier and not through, Belgium, as they 
themselves had planned. But the Germans considered 
their treaty obligations to Belgium to be " but a scrap 
of paper " — and thus — when the great army of in- 
vasion came crashing down towards Paris from the 



96 FAMOUS GENERALS 

Belgian border, it was Foch who had to use, not plan 
number twenty, but plan number forty-one. 

When little five-foot-six-inch Ferdinand Foch first 
came into touch with his British Allies, a great crisis 
faced their lines, for, at Arras, the line held by the 
French General Petain had nearly been pierced by 
the Huns. The Belgians held a part of the front and 
they were suffering over two thousand casualties a 
day. They were also in momemtary peril of yielding 
the defense of the Yser. At Ypres the British had no 
reserves, and cooks and orderlies were holding off the 
swarming mass of Germans, thirsting for their blood 
and longing to get to the coast-line. It was a moment 
of gloom and despondency. 

At this juncture Foch came up, buoyant and cheerful. 
He had men with him and he put them into earthworks, 
for it was impossible to dig trenches in the low, wet 
ground. He planted his 75's behind whatever cover he 
could find, and, delivering two fierce counter-attacks, 
the Huns decided to give up any further advance in 
that sector. Foch had won the day. 

One British admirer said of him, " The little man 
would be cheerful and hopeful even if he had a bullet 
through his middle," and, when he said this, he hit upon 
the true note of Foch's character. Hopefulness is an 
article of the General's religion, for, " depression is a 
confession of intellectual weakness," he has often re- 
marked. " Depression has lost more battles than any 
other cause," he has also said. " To be gloomy is to 
admit that matter has conquered spirit." The general, 
in fact, lives and flourishes by virtue of mental pluck. 



FERDINAND FOCH 97 

" The soldier can snatch victory from the arms of 
defeat," he has often remarked, " jnst as the coming 
of much needed reinforcements will do the same." " In- 
tellectual energy can produce absolute forgetfulness of 
bodily ailments until the body is in actual danger of 
collapse," is likewise one of his favorite maxims. In 
other words, keep on moving, never worry about your 
aches or your pains, but keep on moving and you will 
have your reward. " Watch for depression in the 
enemy," is one of his maxims. " Never watch for 
depression in yourself." 

Foch is thoroughly of a Gallic turn of mind : that is, 
he is vivacious and imaginative. He is a pure type 
of the Frenchman or the Gaul, whom Caesar fought, and 
who has been characterized as of " indomitable spirit 
and ready for any emergency." He is as pure a type 
of his nation as General Pershing is of the United 
States, or General Haig of Scotland; a lean, quick- 
gestured, intellectual, aggressive " priest of offensive 
warfare." He moves alertly upon his feet, and is, ac- 
cording to his friends, seen at his best when mounted 
upon his favorite horse, for then he looks much more 
than his five-feet-six-inches of height and much less 
than his sixty-six years. 

While professor at the French Military School, Gen- 
eral Foch wrote two books upon military matters : one, 
the " Conduct of War " ; the other, the " Principles of 
War," both of which are filled with maxims and argu- 
ments which might have been inspired by the present 
crisis. One of his favorite maxims is this : " Victory 
is a thing of the will," and the first essential in a gen- 



98 FAMOUS GENERALS 

eral should be " moral and physical character and a 
possession of sufficient energy to take the necessary 
risks." He says, at every opportunity, that the essen- 
tial duty of a leader is to read the enemy's mind, to 
outguess your opponent, as it were, and to hit where 
he least expects you to hit. This principle he carried 
out in smashing the Germans after their advance to- 
wards Paris in the early part of the summer of 1918, 
and so successful was he in crushing the Boche that 
victory perched upon the banner of the Allies, and the 
proud hosts from Hun-land were humbled to the dust. 

But let us look back a bit in history and see who was 
the real winner of the first battle of the Marne. 

The vast German army, trained to the minute, eager 
for the capture of Paris, keen for another repetition of 
the triumph of the year 1870, had crashed through Bel- 
gium in the fall of 1914, had leveled the stout de- 
fenses of Liege, had beaten to a pulp the patriotic 
Belgian army, and had pushed on upon a triumphant 
course towards Paris. The British army, ninety thou- 
sand strong (but, oh, what a ninety thousand!) was 
rapidly being brought over the channel in order to hit 
the vast gray mass of invaders upon the right flank. 
Meanwhile, the French army — quickly mobilized — 
had marched on to meet this infernal machine and, if 
possible, to save the city of Paris from capture. In- 
vader and defender met at the peaceful-moving waters 
of the Marne, in about the same place that Attila had 
fought the battle of Chalons, many, many centuries 
before. 

There was a battle: intense, furious, awe-inspiring. 



FERDINAND FOCH 99 

The Frenchmen said, " They shall not pass ! " and, 
after one of the most sanguinary struggles in the his- 
tory of the world, the German masses were stopped in 
their triumphant course towards the French capital. 

" Who wrought the miracle of the victory at the 
Marne ?" was asked of an old French artilleryman. 
" Tactically," he answered, " the final victory was due 
to General Foch." 

"Ah, ha ! And how was that, pray ? " " General 
Foch saw a bad liaison between two German armies," 
he explained. " There was a weak spot, although the 
attack was heavy on both the general's wings. He 
thrust his guns up into the gap, while he developed the 
wedge with his infantry. Those batteries, which were 
beautifully placed, raked the Germans so unmercifully 
that retreat was ordered." " Only twice," he added, 
" have I seen what they call a panic upon the field of 
battle. This was the second occasion, and one large 
German unit, at least a battalion strong, cut and ran as 
the General's 75's opened on them from only a four- 
hundred-yard range. It was sauve qui pent (save him- 
self, he who can)." 

The battle of the Marne was a French victory: the 
Germans withdrew and intrenched, and now occurred 
a four years' struggle for the mastery of French soil 
which finally has resulted in a glorious triumph for 
the Allies; but, as the old artilleryman has so aptly 
said, it was Foch and his 75's that won the day at 
the great battle near the scene of Attila's defeat so 
many years before. 

After the terrible fight, the English came in numbers 



100 FAMOUS GENERALS 

across the channel, and, facing the Huns from Ostend 
to the Somme — where they joined their right flank 
with the French left — began a stubborn and relentless 
fight against the bloodthirsty invaders of French and 
Belgian territory. Then their force was augmented by 
the American Army, so that when General Foch was 
placed in supreme command of the Allies he directed 
the efforts of a greater force than any one man had 
ever before been asked to lead in the history of the 
world. 

Men who are educated and paid to fight and to kill 
usually have a steely and heartless glance : the mark of 
militarism. There was nothing kindly about the 
countenances of either Caesar or Napoleon. Kitchener 
had the cold, clear eye of a golden eagle. You would, 
therefore, imagine that upon the face of Ferdinand Foch 
would be shown the mark of the man of blood and of 
iron. But such is not the case. There is a certain 
gentleness upon the countenance of this generalissimo 
of the vast Allied army: a Latin smoothness and flexi- 
bility. 

The French leader has the reputation for being very 
reserved and quite distant in his manner. His orders 
are given very briefly and, when busy with war and its 
works, he is a man of very few words. He hardly ever 
makes addresses to the soldiers: in fact, they would 
like to have him exhort them more than he does. 
Every man has some bad habit, or there is a general 
fault about him, and it is said, to his detriment, in a 
land where smoking is often practiced to excess, and, 
at a time when there is more of it than ever before, 



FERDINAND FOCH 101 

Foch is one of the champions. He is never without 
a cigarette between his fingers, but generally this cig- 
arette is allowed to go out. 

And how about his strategy? It is true that, with 
the vast resources at his command, there could be but one 
outcome of the attack by his troops upon the western 
front, yet it took a man of keen mind to direct the 
Allied advance so that the vast Hun machine could be 
smashed. On July 18th, 1918, these attacks were com- 
menced; on November the 11th, 1918, they ended in 
victory. 

At the beginning of his offensive, the backs of the 
Allies were against the wall — the sea wall, which, if 
the Germans were to reach, would mean victory for the 
Huns. It was important that the invaders should be 
kept from reaching the ocean; that they should be 
smashed back from the Somme Elver where they had 
concentrated. Along the river Marne a dangerous 
wedge had been driven into the French line and this 
jutted towards Paris. This must be cleared away be- 
fore a genuine offensive could be possible. 

Foch's plan was like Grant's before the battle of the 
Wilderness, i.e., to keep on hammering, hammering 
until he exhausted his opponent. The Americans were 
now arriving in great numbers and were concentrated 
along the Toul front and from St. Mihiel, east and 
south. These forces were not expected to attack at 
once, but were to drill and be trained for a final of- 
fensive. 

The British, meanwhile, were making such smashing 
attacks on the north that the Germans were losing vast 



102 FAMOUS GENERALS 

numbers of men. Their lines finally became very much 
weakened and an appeal to Austria was the result. 
Thus the lines to the northward were temporarily bol- 
stered up. 

Now the Huns (cheered on from the rear by a crazy- 
headed Kaiser, whose bombastic utterances sounded like 
the remarks of a wild man) made an attempt to take 
Paris. Putting in division after division, they pressed 
on from Rheims to Chateau-Thierry, pushing on be- 
fore them the French Army. All was going well until 
the Americans were rushed into the fray. They came 
up in motor trucks, and among them the U. S. Marines, 
" first to fight " in all of the affairs in which Uncle 
Sam is interested. The new troops — full of ginger 
and " pep " — were lined up against the Germans, and 
then there was such a signal turn in the tide, and such 
a murderous reception, that the Germans to this day call 
our soldiers " teufelhunden," or devil dogs. 

The Marne salient was soon eliminated, but there 
was still grimmer work for the Americans. Down 
beyond Verdun to St. Mihiel, and then to Pont-a-Mous- 
son, and it was important that this, too, should be 
blotted out. To the Americans was given this task. 

How they did this, how quickly, how speedily — all 
the world knows. The St. Mihiel salient was soon 
wiped out, thousands of prisoners were captured before 
they could escape to their own lines, and, pressing their 
advantage to the full, the troops under General Per- 
shing now moved on through the Argonne forest to the 
Metz-Lille road. The pass of the Grand Pre was soon 
taken, and, trusting to the Meuse River to protect its 



FERDINAND FOCH 103 

right flank, the first American Army gradually worked 
its way northward until the Metz-Lille road was under 
fire of its guns. 

Now, Austria withdrew from the war, and the Aus- 
trian divisions which had been sent to this section as 
reinforcements were withdrawn. The Germans broke 
and the American commander was not slow to take 
advantage of the situation. The fresh troops, buoyant 
and cheerful, went forward, nearer and nearer to the 
vital railway, and, although the Germans made serious 
attempts to stop the advance, they were driven behind 
the Meuse and Sedan was taken. Sedan was where the 
French forces, under Napoleon the Third, capitulated 
to the Germans in 1870. At Sedan the troops from 
America delivered the final blow at Germany. 

Meanwhile, the French — operating west of the 
American forces — gave a wonderful example of co- 
operation. Held back for a short time by the defenses 
of the Oise-Serre angle, they finally broke through the 
German wall of steel and the Huns were forced into 
the open. They were made to fall back along the Aisne 
and a real retreat began: a real retreat along the line 
from the Oise to the Meuse. 

The British, at the same time, had been delivering 
fearful blows in Flanders. They crossed the Scheldt, 
north of Valenciennes, pushed their lines well to the east 
along the line of the Conde-Mons canal, and approached 
Maubeuge. Everywhere German resistance gave way, 
and France was almost entirely cleared of German 
troops. 

At this propitious moment, when everywhere the Al- 



104 FAMOUS GENERALS 

lies were triumphant and Austria had collapsed en- 
tirely, the German government signed an armistice 
which did away with the fighting until peace terms 
could be decided upon. No wonder Marshal Foch was 
jubilant, for, when you realize what a position he had 
been in early in the Fall of 1870 you can appreciate 
what the French patriot was thinking about. Let us 
view the scene of long ago ! 

It was in the year 1870, the time, the early Fall, 
when the russet leaves have just commenced to flutter 
to the ground. 

Along a winding road of northern France which led 
from the ancient fortress of Sedan rolled an open 
carriage. Before it rode a guard of French lancers, 
with arms shining in the sunlight, and with pennants 
fluttering from their lance-heads. Behind it clattered 
officers in the uniform of Napoleonic France. Further 
in the rear, and, with a look of sneering conquest on 
their faces, came steel-helmeted Prussian hussars, rank 
upon rank, and squadron after squadron. It was a mov- 
ing spectacle. 

In the carriage, guarded by all of these men-at-arms, 
sat Xapoleon the Third, Emperor of the French. He 
was going to meet the King of Prussia at Chateau Belle- 
vue, to surrender his sword and his crushed and beaten 
armies. Upon his flabby face was written great physi- 
cal suffering, while deep lines were furrowed in his 
cheeks, telling of a grievous illness which was fast 
bringing him to his grave. His mind was in no pleas- 
ant state, for he faced a conquering foe. 

The humiliated Monarch entered the salon of a cha- 



FERDINAND FOCH 105 

teau, followed by the officers of his staff. There the 
leaders of the Prussian host with which he had just been 
battling awaited him. The German officers courteously 
arose as he entered, and stood at attention — their stiff- 
ened right arms touching their helmets as is their cour- 
teous custom. The King of Prussia remained seated, 
and, arrogantly gazing at the man whose honored guest 
he had been not long before, he said : 

" I am dee-lighted to see you." 

Kapoleon the Third was stooping over, bent with pain. 
Drawing his sword, he presented it to the Prussian, hilt 
to the fore. 

" Sire," he whimpered, " here is my sword." 

The Prussian leered at it. 

" I take it," said he. 

Fondling it a moment, as if it were some bauble, he 
cried out, loudly : 

" I give it back to you." 

The French officers drew deep breaths, for the tone 
of the speech had stung them to the quick. Their black 
eyes shone like diamonds. 

Among them was a young fellow — almost a boy — 
and, as the Prussian Monarch growled out the stinging 
words they cut the patriotic Frenchman to the quick. 
" He clearly meant, I'll take care of you," said he, to 
a fellow officer. " He is a dog." 

This youthful officer was the future Marshal Foch. 
And he never forgot the words of the Prussian 
King. 

The sneering Prussian was the grandfather of Wil- 
liam Hohenzollern, formerly Monarch of Germany. 



106 FAMOUS GENERALS 

Turn the reel, Father Time, we have another picture 
to show the spectators ! 

It is Fall again in La Belle France : the Fall of 1918 : 

Amidst the debris of the roads in northern France 
play searchlights. Three limousines creep into the flash 
of the brilliant glare, and, as they approach, white flags 
are seen fluttering from their bodies. Inside are Ger- 
mans — cross-looking Germans — they seek an armis- 
tice. 

The trespassers upon the soil of France are met with 
courteous consideration. French officers meet them, 
smile sweetly, enter their cars and guide them over 
the dark roads until Chateau Frankfort is reached. 
It is in the deep forest of Compiegne, and a stop is 
made here for the night. 

The Germans snore loudly. They do not let defeat 
worry them. 

The next day all motor to Senlis, where, in a railway 
car, sits the same officer who was at the capitulation 
of Sedan, now a grizzled man. He is Generalissimo- 
in-Chief of the Allied armies. 

The Germans enter the car, hats in their hands, and 
he rises to meet them. 

His voice is tense, calm, clear. 

" What do you wish, gentlemen ? " 

" We have come, Marshal, in order to arrange the 
terms for an armistice," said one of their number. 
a We accept President Wilson's fourteen points. Ger- 
many is beaten." 

What was his reply ? 



FEKDINAND FOCH 107 

We do not know what the gallant Field-Marshal 
said, but we imagine that it was something like 
this : 

" The terms, gentlemen, will be severe, owing to the 
barbarous manner in which your people have waged this 
war. They are as follows : " 

Then he read to them the program already agreed 
upon by the Allies, and no more crushing ultimatum 
had ever been delivered to a beaten power. 

The keen-eyed Marshal had no tone of sneering or of 
overburdening triumph in his voice as he read. Yet — 
away back in his mind — he had the scene of another 
surrender indelibly engraved upon his memory — that 
of Sedan, when his Emperor was humiliated. And, as 
he read on, the great Generalissimo of the French and 
Allied armies, smiled — not leeringly, but good- 
naturedly — into the stolid eyes of the crestfallen Ger- 
man emissaries. 

What had the Marshal to do with the final triumph ? 

This is well expressed by the words of Premier Clem- 
enceau, who, when approached by several Senators with 
the words: 

" You are the savior of France," replied: " Gentle- 
men, I thank you. I did not deserve the honor which 
you have done me. Let me tell you that I am proudest 
that you have associated my name with that of Marshal 
Foch, that great soldier, who, in the darkest hours, never 
doubted the destiny of his country. He has inspired 
every one with courage, and we owe him an infinite 
debt" 



108 FAMOUS GENERALS 

SO, THREE TIMES THREE EOR GENERAL 
EOCH! 

He is the man who never lost his cheerfulness in spite 
of the fact that the soldiers of his country — bleeding 
and distressed — have been fighting a gruelling war 
and struggling for a long time against terrific odds. 
The signing of the armistice terms, submitted by the 
Allies, practically brought to an end the greatest war 
in the history of the human race — a war which brought 
suffering and misery to the people of every land : which 
cost $224,303,205,000 in treasure, and nearly 4,500,- 
000 lives. The end of hostilities 1,556 days after the 
first shot was fired, tendered to civilization the assurance 
that never again shall people be threatened with the slav- 
ery of a despotically autocratic rule. 

Cheerful when things were blackest, cheerful when 
events were brightest, let history record with truthful 
significance, that here — at least — has been one soldier 
who is the living personification of that ancient doctrine : 

"When things look darkest: SMILE! SMILE! 
SMILE ! " 



LE MAEECHAL FOCH 

Some sing a song of bold Turenne, who fought and bled 
at Inn, 

Some sing of good old Marshal Saxe, that sonl of fire 
and vim, 

Some shout of vaProus Marshal Ney, who was Napol- 
eon's friend, 

And some of dashing Kellerman, hard-riding to the end. 

But, listen, boys, I'll sing a song of 

Foch! Foch! Foch! 
I'll even make the Germans join, the 

Boche! Boche! Boche! 
The fellow with the eagle nose, keen vision like a hawk, 
Who is always working quietly, and lets the others talk. 

Perhaps you can't remember, 'twas September of the 

year, 
When all the world was somber, and all the foliage se*er, 
The Germans swept down from the North, a million men 

or more, 
With gatlings, mortars, poison gas, and generals by the 

score. 

Then Clemenceau set up a call, for 

Foch! Foch! Foch! 
The five-foot-six-inch General, to stop the 

Boche! Boche! Boche! 

109 



110 FAMOUS GENERALS 

They didn't have to search for him, for he* was on the 

ground ; 
Indeed, wherever trouble was, old Foch was always 

found. 

The Dutchmen they were laughing, for they had their 

steins along, 
And they whistled and they chuckled as they sang their 

drinking song, 
Then each one took a swig of beer and tightened on his 

gun, 
And bristled his mustachios, a la Attila the Hun. 

But the Frenchmen only jeered at them, with 

Foch! Foch! Foch! 
And the Poilus only guyed them, with a 

Boche! Boche! Boche! 
And they put on their steel helmets, and they primed 

their seventy-fives, 
And they cried out : " Come on, Dutchmen ! Here is 
where we sell our lives ! " 

On came the val'rous Hunnish hordes, on surged the 

Kaiser's best, 
While the Crown Prince loitered in the rear, and swelled 

his cross-strewn vest, 
They fired with fifty thousand guns, shot off poison by 

the ton, 
But they couldn't make the Frenchmen quail or get 

them on the run. 



PEEDINAND FOCH 111 

For the Poilus kept on fighting under 

Foch! Fochl Foch! 

And their rifles kept on barking at the 

Boche I Boche ! Boche ! 
And the men from farms and vineyards, from the streets 

of gay Paree, 
Cried out: " We've got you, Dutchies! Here's where 
we end your spree ! " 

" This isn't going to be a joke, as it was in '71, 

This isn't going to be a rout, we're going to have some 

fun, 
It will not be Sedan again, for Foch is not Bazaine, 
We're going to drive back Deutchland, from the Sambre 

to the Aisne." 

" For, can't you see we're marching under 

Foch! Foch! Foch! 
For don't you know we're laughing at you 

Boche! Boche! Boche! 
We've got the best artillery in all the bloomin' world, 
And we'll outfight the Prussian Guard, now that our 
flag's unfurled." 

For two long days the Kaiser's men, they tried to go 

ahead, 
For two long days the Prussian host, they charged, and 

fought, and bled, 
But they couldn't get across the Marne, or do what 

Bliicher's force, 



112 FAMOUS GENERALS 

Did to the French in olden days when Nappy was the 



For the Poilus now were fighting under 

Foch! Foch! Fochl 
And their artillerists were mowing down the 

Boclie ! Boche ! Boche ! 
And the quiet Marshal won the day. He's of kin to 

Joan of Arc, 
And if you ever meet them face to face, you'll hear the 
Poilus bark : 

" We're happy that the gods have sent us 

Foch! Foch! Foch! 
For he has taught us how to lick the 

Boche ! Boche ! Boche ! 
We've had some dandy fighters in the days of long ago, 
But, was there one to equal Foch ? The answer is ' No, 
no!'" 



SIR DOUGLAS HAIG 

COMMANDER OF THE BEITISH 
FORCES m FRANCE 



SIE DOUGLAS HAIG 

COMMANDER OF THE BRITISH 
FORCES IN FRANCE 

A QUIET, modest man, with a low, deep voice 
and a clear, blue eye — such is Sir Douglas 
Haig — leader of the vast army which Eng- 
land gathered from the four corners of the globe to 
crush, if possible, the 1 might of Prussian autocracy. 
" He doesn't talk much ; he is a Fifer," his brother of- 
ficers say of him, and, when they say Fifer they do not 
mean a fife player, but one who hails from the little 
kingdom of Fife, where courage is as hard as the gran- 
ite hills, and whence came the Clan MacDuff, the great- 
est fighters of a fighting race. 

The fierce world conflict which has brought all of 
the nations into the melee, has carried Sir Douglas Haig 
into prominence and thrust him into the lime-light. 
Prior to this eventful contest he was known to be a 
thoroughly reliable officer in the British army, a grad- 
uate of Oxford and a lover of horseflesh. In 1885 he 
joined the 7th Hussars, served in the Soudan in 1898, 
including the battles of Atbara and Khartoum; was in 
the South African War in 1899, and General of the Di- 
vision of Cavalry in 1900. 

When this patriotic English soldier was in Egypt, he 
was but a Captain of cavalry, and was serving under 
the famous Lord Kitchener, called Kitchener of Khar- 

115 



116 FAMOUS GENERALS 

toum. General Gordon had been killed by the Der- 
vishes at Khartoum, and, with slow but steady progress, 
the English were moving against this city in order to 
defeat the native forces which held it, and to wipe out 
the disgrace of the murder of brave General Gordon, 
and the massacre of his entire command. 

The Sirdar, as Kitchener was called, was building 
a railway, as he advanced upon Khartoum with his 
troops. The steel rails crept steadily across the desert, 
transporting both men and supplies, and, as he saw 
its approach, the Khalifa, or head chief of the Der- 
vishes, grew fearful of what was about to take place. 
He ordered his most faithful General — one Mahmud 
— to strike the advancing English and Egyptians, with 
some ten thousand of his wild tribesmen. But Mahmud 
was fearful of the English and dared not fight them. 

Among the English cavalrymen was a straight, well- 
knit young fellow named Haig — Douglas Haig — and 
one day he was sent forward to reconnoiter near the 
Atbara River. In vain he looked for Mahmud ; the 
wily old fox had intrenched himself somewhere in the 
scrub of mimosa and date-palms, half grass and half 
creeper, and it was impossible to find him. The Brit- 
ish force behind sweltered in the moist heat of that 
tropic land and shivered at night. Oh, if they could 
but get at the old renegade ! 

At Shendi, a little depot up the Nile, it was learned 
that Mahmud had many troops, many women, and much 
loot. The Sirdar, therefore, sent three gun-boats up the 
river to bombard the stronghold, and, on land, a force 
of the 15th Egyptians and about one hundred and fifty 



SIR DOUGLAS HAIG 117 

native tribesmen of the Jaalin band. There were also 
two field grins. When these boats were within range 
and shelled the garrison every one left post-haste for 
Omdurman, leaving the women behind, and these were 
immediately appropriated by the native troops, together 
with all the stores they found. 

This raid was successful and it did not bring Mah- 
mud into the open, so again the British and Egyptian 
force advanced towards Khartoum. Captain Douglas 
Haig was sent forward once more to ascertain where 
the wily old fox was, — with him went cavalry, a horse 
battery, and several Maxim guns. After going east- 
ward and south for about four miles, the outposts of 
the Arabs were met with and the cavalry chased the 
Dervishes for full twelve miles across the sandy waste. 
Then, as Haig and several other cavalrymen debouched 
from behind a high hillock, they suddenly found that 
they were within sight of a palisade, surrounded by a 
trench, behind which were at least fifteen hundred 
Dervishes, armed to the teeth. 

Without more ado, the officers rode back towards the 
supporting column, but not until they had ordered the 
Maxims to throw a few shells into the fortification, 
just to show the Arabs that they would shortly be back 
in order to avenge the death of General Gordon. Then, 
trotting easily to the camp of Lord Kitchener, they re- 
ported that they had found Old Mahmud — intrenched 
— and it looked as if he were going to stay there and 
fight. 

Mahmud's camp was on the northeast bank of the 
Atbara, and around the entire camp ran a trench, or 



118 FAMOUS GENERALS 

zareba, of thorn bushes. Lord Kitchener determined 
to attack at once and to keep the cavalry, in which was 
Captain Haig, to the rear and left, so that, when the 
troops had forced an entrance into the palisade, and 
the enemy had begun to flee, the cavalrymen could dash 
into the mass and cut all down who refused to surrender. 

Captain Douglas Haig smiled grimly beneath his 
light mustache, and looked carefully to his gun and 
equipment. As the sun went down in a blaze of splen- 
dor, lighting up the parapet of Mahmud with his wild 
riders of the Egyptian desert, from behind the palisades 
of which half a dozen little flags fluttered in the gentle 
breeze, he said to Lieutenant-Colonel Broadwood in 
charge of all the cavalry : 

" To-morrow, Colonel, we will see the revenge of Gor- 
don, and the beginning of the end." 

Here and there a white-clad figure dodged behind 
the parapets, the saffron, pale-blue, yellow and chocolate 
flags fluttered, fluttered, and a great blue heron flew 
across the sandy waste of the river saying : " Qu — 
aak!" 

" That," said Captain Haig, " sounds like ' Mahmud 
w-a-l-k.' » 

Morning dawned, and as the smoke of the camp fires 
ascended in the still air a Maxim gun sounded the first 
note of conflict. The orders were to rush right up to 
the parapet, to pull down the thorn and wood palisade, 
to jump the trenches, and then to go in and fight hand- 
to-hand. 

A battery of Krupps now opened fire. The sun 
had risen, showing the British «and Egyptian army ly- 



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**^M 






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r^w 

1 




^HH 






SIR DOUGLAS HAIG 



SIE DOUGLAS HAIG 119 

ing along the low hills, or plateau, in a long arc — 
Gatacre's British brigade of Lincolns, Seaforth, Cam- 
erons, and Warwicks on the left; Hector Macdonald's 
Egyptians in the center; and Maxwell's brigade curv- 
ing around to the right, or west. The whole crest was 
covered with Kitchener's army: Egyptians in black 
jerseys, Soudanese in fez and broad trousers, British in 
khaki — thousands strong. As Mahmud looked over 
the parapet wall at the serried column of avengers of 
General Gordon, his heart must have sunk, for truly the 
hand of steel was at his throat. 

Captain Haig, with the cavalry, was well to the rear 
and left flank; on the right flank was the native, or 
Egyptian cavalry. As the gallant Englishman gazed 
at Mahmud's palisades, four batteries jingled and clat- 
tered into position about a hundred yards in front of 
the line of battalions. They wheeled, sighted, and then 
a sheet of flame belched from their mouths. BOOM! 
The battle of Atbara had begun. 

For ten minutes the bombardment continued and 
clouds of dust began to be kicked up in Mahmud's in- 
closure, while several of the thatched huts there caught 
on fire. Suddenly some one cried : " Look there ! " 

Hundreds of horsemen were seen scrambling into their 
saddles within the inclosure — they dashed through an 
opening on the right of the zareba, and headed for the 
Egyptian cavalry on the English right. With a cheer, 
the native troops leaped to their own saddles and ad- 
vanced to meet in mortal combat, while the Maxims 
shot great gaps in the oncoming line of Dervishes. But 
— see ! — they wheel — they retire — they scramble 



120 FAMOUS GENERALS 

again into the palisade ! They have been unwilling to 
meet in a hand-to-hand engagement. 

For an hour and twenty minutes the krupps thun- 
dered and roared. The straw huts began to blaze — 
yet the Arabs made no reply — they awaited the on- 
slaught with calmness. At last the work of the guns 
was over, and Kitchener raised a baton — giving the 
order for a general advance. With a wild cheer the 
whole line went forward. 

Bugles blared, and, dismounting, the British officers 
placed themselves at the head of their commands; the 
Cameron Highlanders armed with thick, raw-hide 
gloves and bill-hooks, in order to tear away the thorn- 
hedges. 

Thirteen thousand men advanced steadily together, 
bayonets flashing in the sun's rays, ensigns fluttering, 
pipes squealing, Soudanese drums rolling, and shrill 
English bugles blowing. At first they went on at a 
slow march — the front as level as if a ruler had been 
held before it — the guns firing over their heads into 
the palisade. Then, when they had arrived within 
three hundred yards of the trench, the Dervishes let loose 
at them with rifle fire. Men staggered and fell, but the 
lines closed up — kept on — Hurrah ! — they are at the 
trench — Hurrah ! — they are over it now — they are 
up the palisade — they have torn it asunder — they are 
inside and at the Arabs : Seaforths, Lincolns, Warwicks, 
Soudanese, Egyptians, all are in deadly hand-to-hand 
combat with the followers of Khalifa. 

The charging line of white and black soldiers swept 
through the camp and the Dervishes made a stiff fight of 



SIR DOUGLAS HAIG 121 

it. Many would not run and were shot and bayonetted 
where they stood; others charged forward with sword 
or spear in hand only to be knocked down by some well- 
directed bullet, or blow from the butt of a rifle. The 
bulk of the Mahmud army retired slowly, turning now 
and again to shoot. But piecemeal and by small de- 
tachments, they were destroyed. In less than three- 
quarters of an hour the British had swept clear through 
the palisade and were driving the Dervishes over the dry 
bed of the river, where hundreds were picked off as 
they vainly tried to get away from the rifle-fire of the 
skillful marksmen in their rear. The Egyptian and 
Soudanese troops, with lifelong injuries to set a-right, 
gave no quarter. The Highlanders cried out — " Gor- 
don must be avenged ! " 

It was now half past eight and a bugle shrilled above 
the uproar — " CEASE FIRING ! " 

The army of Mahmud had ceased to exist, and where 
was Mahmud, himself — the trusted General of the 
Mahdi — he who was going to drive the British into 
the sea ? 

In an inner zareba, seated on the carpeted floor, with 
his weapons beside him, the defeated General had been 
discovered, waiting for death. It is strange that he had 
not found it, for the Soudanese were all around him 
and had rushed his place of hiding. Mahmud was 
dragged into the open, and was about to be cut down 
when a British officer intervened and carried him be- 
fore Kitchener. There he faced his Conqueror — a tall 
pure-bred Arab, dressed in the uniform of the Khalifa, 
and awaiting death with no faltering glance. 



122 FAMOUS GENERALS 

" Are you the man Mahmud ? " asked the Sirdar. 

" Yes, I am Mahmud, and I command, just as you 
do," was the tart reply. 

" Why have you advanced against us to burn and to 
kill?" " 

" I have to obey my orders, just as you, yourself, 
have to do," replied Mahmud, unbendingly. 

The Sirdar may have liked him better for his de- 
fiant tone, although nothing in his face betrayed it. 
" Take him away," said he, " and let him be well 
watched." 

As he walked slowly off, a young British officer went 
with him. This fellow had ridden in with the cavalry, 
and had fought his way right through the howling mob 
of Dervishes. It was Douglas Haig: Captain in Her 
Majesty's British force, and a rattling good swords- 
man, so said the humiliated followers of the Khalifa. 

Kitchener's men followed up what was left of Mah- 
mud's army to Omdurman, where the Khalifa had a 
force of fully 60,000 followers. Here he had deter- 
mined to fight the Arab Armageddon, and here, with 
12,000 black riflemen and 13,000 black and Arabian 
spearmen in the center, as a main army, the man who 
wished to rule all of Egypt was ready to cross swords 
with Kitchener, victor of Atbara, and man of iron. On 
the second day of September the British and Egyptian 
forces were ready for battle, and on that day they met 
the Khalifa's host, with all its majesty and might, to 
fight for the mastery of the upper portion of Egypt. 

Captain Douglas Haig was with the cavalry, and 
while his patrols watched the long five-mile front of the 



SIR DOUGLAS HAIG 123 

Khalifa's vast horde he held his men in the leash, ready 
to spring at the shrill call of the bugle. 

The Khalifa's Arabs were again no match for Kitchen- 
er's well-trained and seasoned campaigners. After a 
battle, lasting all day, the native ruler lost both his army 
and his dominion. The British guns blew the Arab 
force to the four winds of the desert. There were over 
nine thousand of them killed, ten thousand wounded, 
and five thousand taken prisoners. As the humiliated 
Arab chieftain rushed towards Omdurman — his Holy 
City — with his disorganized and defeated troops, the 
cavalry, with Douglas Haig, was so hot in pursuit that 
the Dervishes could not stay and fight in the city, but 
streamed out upon the desert upon the other side of their 
sacred citadel. 

The Khalifa himself, mounted upon a donkey and ac- 
companied by his favorite wife, made off to the south- 
ward into the desert. Here, eight miles from Omdur- 
man swift camels awaited him, and, jumping upon one 
of these, he rejoined what was left of this once great 
fighting host, but no longer was he to prance upon a 
swift Arabian charger as a ruler of upper Egypt, he 
was now a guerilla and a hunted fugitive from the 
wrath of the Sirdar. Haig and his cavalry chased 
after him on the sandy waste, but, having no water for 
their horses, they had to return to Omdurman, without 
being able to bag their game. 

When British met Boer in South Africa, and battled 
on the veldt, Douglas Haig, now a Colonel, did valiant 
service. He was with the column of General French 
which rode to the relief of Kimberly, and when Cronje 



124 FAMOUS GENERALS 

— the Boer leader who had enveloped the British gar- 
rison in the town — was driven from his position and 
finally rounded-up at Klip Krall Drift, who was there 
but gallant Haig, sun-burned, weather-beaten, hale and 
fighting gamely. Cronje capitulated at Paardeberg, and 
had it not been for General French and hard-riding 
Haig of the cavalry corps, it would be doubtful if such 
a successful climax would have come to the British 
effort. 

When the war was practically over and the Boer 
Commandos split into guerilla bands, it was Douglas 
Haig who followed many a detachment with his able 
cavalrymen. One of these Boers — Kritzinger by name 

— eluded and outwitted the gallant Douglas for some 
time, but finally he was driven into the Bavian's Kloof 
Mountains, and here was so harassed that he was no 
longer a factor in the war. 

The close of this mighty campaign found the hard- 
hitting cavalry leader quite fit for any duty, and cer- 
tainly quite delighted when General French cited him 
for bravery in action, and said : " Of all my many 
cavalrymen, not one is so steadfast in duty, so willing, 
and so modest, as Douglas Haig. May he serve the 
King for many and many a year." 

In 1901-1902 Sir Douglas was Lieutenant Colonel 
commanding the 17th Lancers, and has subsequently 
served as follows: Inspector General of Cavalry in 
India, 1903-1906; Major General, 1904; Lieutenant 
General, 1910; General, 1914; Field Marshal, 1917; 
Director Military Transport, 1906-1907; Director 
Staff Duties, Army Headquarters, 1907-1909; Chief of 



SIR DOUGLAS HAIG 125 

Staff in India, 1909-1912 ; General Officer commanding 
at Aldershot, 1912-1914; commanding 1st British 
Army, 1914-1915; served to the close of the European 
war, 1914-1918. 

As a matter of fact, very little is known of Sir Doug- 
las Haig. Ask any man in London about the leader 
of the British Armies, and he will say : " Why, he is 
a great soldier." Press him still further and inquire 
upon what he bases these remarks, and he will add: 
" The fact is, my friend, I really do not know any- 
thing else about this general. He is a fine man, — that 
is certain." 

Now, there's a reason for all of this, and a good one, 
too, for the great soldier shuns the spotlight and will 
not talk to the newspaper brigade. He is the personi- 
fication of personal modesty — he has a deep-seated 
aversion to being advertised in public prints. He is 
the typical Britisher: calm, imperturbable, modest, re- 
tiring. " He has no side," as they say at Oxford, yet 
no man has been through more, or has seen more than 
this grim man of the camp and battlefield. He was 
the leader of the British troops which rode to the re- 
lief of Kimberly; he commanded the sullen, shot-torn 
legions at the heroic retreat from Mons, and he looked 
imperturbably on as the shattered Canadian and Brit- 
ish lines stemmed the German advance at Ypres. 

The Commander-in-Chief's cavalry training sticks out 
all over him. He stands with an easy and graceful car- 
riage, and walks with a rangy, swinging stride, so com- 
mon to men who are a great deal in the saddle. In 
younger days he was fond of riding to hounds, and, even 



126 FAMOUS GENERALS 

now, lie takes a gallop every day. He does not motor 
save to reach some distant place in short time, and he 
tries to keep physically fit. 

A correspondent says of him that of all the Allied 
Chieftains in the war, the Commander-in-Chief of the 
British army is the best groomed and the most soldierly- 
looking of the lot. He is smarter and more alert than 
Nivelle and has not the paternal appearance of Marshal, 
or " Papa," JofTre. Amid all the fearful burden of 
the fighting, he seems always to be cheerful, optimistic, 
unruffled and calm. Like Foch, he has learned to smile 
when things look blackest, and, like the Trench leader, 
he is an optimist and not a pessimist. 

Sir Douglas Haig is known as " Lucky Haig," for, in 
the South African war, he had so many narrow escapes 
from death that he well deserves this title. But he 
might also be called " Haig the Prophet," for, more 
than twenty years ago, he visited Germany, saw the 
vast preparation which the Kaiser was making for war, 
and wrote many letters home to brother officers urging 
, preparedness. " We will eventually have to fight the 
Germans," he said, " and then we, too, should be ready." 

Like the appeals of Lord Roberts, these remarks 
were passed by unheeded by the vast majority of the 
British people; for they felt secure against invasion, 
protected by their forty miles of war-ships, and — not 
fearing the submarine menace to their merchant marine 
— went on upon their ways of trade and commerce, with 
little thought of the cataclysm which was at hand. 

The Englishman had the correct view. Had England 
but listened to his ideas, when the Germans burst 



SIR DOUGLAS HAIG 127 

through Belgium and swept over France, the Empire 
would have had more than a standing army of 90,000 
to impede their progress. There would have been no 
delay in training and conscripting a vast force, and 
the cohorts of the Kaiser would have been thrown back, 
some time before they were forced, by armed might, to 
retire. What the Kaiser called " the contemptible lit- 
tle English army " was formed of seven divisions, of 
which Haig commanded the first — including much of 
the cavalry. 

Before leaving England every soldier had received 
from the King the following message: 

" You are leaving home to fight for the safety and 
honor of my Empire. Belgium, whose country we are 
pledged to defend, has been attacked, and Erance is 
about to be invaded by the same powerful foe. 

" I have implicit confidence in you, my soldiers. 
Duty is your watchword, and I know that your duty 
will be nobly done. 

" I shall follow your every movement with deepest 
interest and mark with eager satisfaction your daily 
progress ; indeed, your welfare will never be absent from 
my thoughts. 

" I pray God to bless you and guard you, and bring 
you back victorious." 

Still further, each man-of-arms was given this ad- 
vice by Lord Kitchener : " Be invariably courteous, 
considerate, kind. Never do anything likely to injure or 
destroy property, and always look upon looting as a dis- 
graceful act. You are sure to meet with a welcome and 
to be trusted. Keep consistently upon your guard 



128 FAMOUS GENERALS 

against any excesses. Do your duty bravely. Fear 
God. Honor the King." 

Noble words these and advice well taken by the Brit- 
ish cohorts. Throughout the war the soldiers fought a 
clean fight; fought without looting, without disturbing 
the peaceful peasants, without murder and brutality to 
quiet non-combatants. 

England had entered the fray in order to protect the 
neutrality of Belgium, a little country which, in 1831- 
1832 and 1839, had become by treaty between France, 
Prussia and Great Britain " an independent and per- 
fectly neutral state." Great Britain had promised that, 
in case the soil of Belgium was invaded by either a 
French or a Prussian army, she would cooperate with 
the power which had not violated the territory of this 
little state, for its defense. 

'Now, the Prussian army had invaded this state, had 
scoffed at the treaty as being " but a scrap of paper," 
and, to the exhortation of the King of Belgium to the 
effect : " I make a supreme appeal to the diplomatic 
intervention of your Majesty's Government to safeguard 
the integrity of Belgium," the British people had sent 
over their standing army, " that contemptible, little 
British army," with Sir Douglas Haig in command of 
the first division. 

The German Chancellor, speaking in the Reichstag 
on August 4th, had said " Gentlemen, we are in a state 
of necessity, and necessity knows no law. Our troops 
have occupied Luxembourg, and perhaps are already on 
Belgian soil. Gentlemen, this is contrary to the dic- 
tates of International Law. Anybody who is threat- 



SIR DOUGLAS HAIG 129 

ened, as we are threatened, and is fighting for his high- 
est possession, can only have one thought — how he is to 
hack his way through." 

Advancing to meet the Germans, the English came 
in contact with the exultant troops at Mons. But the 
Germans had too many men for them, and, continually 
enveloping and threatening the left flank, forced the 
hard-fighting, " but contemptible," little British army 
to withdraw. Haig's division had a fearful baptism of 
fire but came off in good order, with the loss of hundreds 
of men. 

The Germans passed onward, and, in an attempt to get 
to the sea, struggled again at Ypres for mastery of the 
English line. It was of no avail. Under the mighty 
Teutonic assault, the lines shook, but held, and Sir 
Douglas Haig, with the First Division, manned a bloody 
breach with such indomitable pluck that they came to be 
called " The Iron Brigade." 

At this time came an event which marked Sir Douglas 
Haig as a warrior and a hard rider, equal in ability to 
turn a defeat into victory to " Phil " Sheridan of Win- 
chester fame. 

For a whole day a terrible battle had waged and the 
Germans had been raining shells upon the British posi- 
tion. From out the fierce barrage the Prussian guard 
arose and stormed the English lines. So furious was 
their onslaught that they broke through the British 
front and small parties of troops in khaki were in re- 
treat. It looked like a fearful rout for the English 
troops ; and word was brought to the rear of this state of 
affairs. 



130 FAMOUS GENERALS 

At the moment — when all seemed to be lost — down 
the road came Sir Douglas Haig, galloping hard and 
surrounded by his own Seventeenth Lancers.. He was 
as neat as a pin; as well turned out as upon a peace 
parade, while shells screamed by overhead and dead and 
dying lay on every side. Reining in, he scanned the 
wavering line with cool and fearless gaze, and pointed 
to the enemy, " Do not let them pass ! " he said. The 
Germans found a new spirit before them. The men in 
the blood-stained khaki fought with a courage which 
was invincible, and so enthused had they been by their 
commander's words that the retreat became an ad- 
vance. Haig and his message had saved the day. 

I have said that he is called " Lucky Haig " and you 
can see that this epithet is well applied, for, a few days 
after this ride of death, a shell exploded in the midst 
of his quarters. Nearly every staff officer was either 
killed or maimed, and as for Haig he was out upon a tour 
of inspection at the time, so he, of course, escaped. 

After the battle of Ypres, the Germans dug in and so 
did the English. There came a fierce three years' strug- 
gle for supremacy, which at length has ended with the 
British troops pressing the Germans back all along their 
line from Holland to Valenciennes, and in possession of 
Mons, where they first met the Germans. Sir Douglas 
Haig was appointed commander of the British forces 
after the retirement of Sir John French. It was the 
logical climax of a military life, well spent and well or- 
dered. 

The conduct of the war by the new leader of the 
British armies has given apparent satisfaction to the 



SIR DOUGLAS HAIG 131 

English nation. He believed in continued hammering, 
or, in wearing down the Germans by constantly pound- 
ing their line, and, you see the result ! The giant Eng- 
lish army nibbled at and harrassed the Germans so per- 
sistently that eventually they were forced into a great 
retreat, which would have ended in a rout had not an 
armistice been signed. 

The war has been hard work and the Commander- 
in-Chief has been the soul of systematic labor. Every 
morning at nine o'clock he has been at his desk, and 
from then on until the luncheon hour has been in con- 
ference with his various lieutenants and assistants. 
Many miles behind the front, he has been bound to 
every part of his line by telephone and telegraph. He 
has known what has been going on in every sector, and he 
has planned, schemed, and devised the means for 
victory. 

In olden days the leader of an army was right among 
his men ; he fought in their midst. Not so to-day. 
Where King John and Bayard were shoulder to shoulder 
and horse to horse with their followers, a present-day 
general is about twenty to twenty-five miles in the rear 
of the line. When a modern gun can shoot and kill at 
twenty-five miles it is rather important that the gen- 
eral should be to the rear, that is unless he is not thought 
much of and is expected to allow himself to be shot. 

So the only time that you would see Sir Douglas Haig 
with, or near, any of his troops, would be in the after- 
noon. Promptly at four o'clock his horse would be 
brought to his headquarters and he would be off for 
a gallop clown the hard French roads. As the trim- 



132 FAMOUS GENERALS 

looking Britisher would ride by there would be many a 
cheer for the hero of Ypres. Fresh-cheeked, blue-eyed, 
trim and well-groomed, a view of this galloping chief- 
tain was a sight for the gods. 

At night you would find him bending over a map 
at headquarters; carefully studying the situation and 
marking with needles where there had been an attack 
or a retreat, the explosion of a mine, or a wave of poison 
gas. Then to bed would go the British leader, who 
commanded more men than had ever before been gath- 
ered together under the British flag. We trust that 
his dreams have been peaceful, yet we know that he 
must often have tossed and turned beneath the weight 
of the great responsibility which he carried. 

Cheery, kindly, neat and sportsmanlike, the leader 
of the British armies is every inch a gentleman; and 
when you look at his picture, I. know that you will be 
delighted to see that the vast armies of defense of the 
violated territory of Belgium have been led by such a 
clean and intelligent warrior as Sir Douglas Haig. 

Here's long life and happiness to you, brave and loyal 
soldier ! And may you have a far more auspicious fate 
than that which befell your august predecessor, Kitch- 
ener of Khartoum ! 



AT THE BATTLE OF YPEES 

AN INCIDENT IN THE LIFE OF SIR DOUGLAS HAIG 

'Twas the second day at Ypres, and the shells were 

raining fast ; 
The Huns were fighting fiercely and their levies here 

were vast. 
With gasses and explosives they had found and struck 

our lines, 
And our dead were lying all around in the craters of 

the mines. 

The cooks and helpers in the rear had been called up to 

the front, 
Each held a spitting rifle, they made their pieces grunt. 
You could hear recoils a-rattling, you could see the 

" Johnsons " fall, 
As the gray-clad Hunnish warriors came on beneath 

the pall. 

They had blood upon their bayonets; they had murder 

in their eyes ; 
And Von Hindenburg was near them, with his crowd of 

belted spies. 
The cruel, brutal leader shot out his flabby chin, 
And cried " Fur Deutschland, Kinder ! Mit bayonets, 

durch und in ! " 

Drugged with blood and powder, filled with hate and 

lust, 
The followers of Attila rushed on in mud and dust. 

133 



134 FAMOUS GENERALS 

With notches in their bayonets ; with dum-dums in their 

guns, 
They yelled out songs of victory to the King of all the 

Huns. 

" We are the salt of all the earth, our kultur is the best ! 
We'll carry it to England and harbor it at Brest! 
Our might is right ! We kill and burn to show our 

foes the way 
To be a kultured gentleman in Berlin and Munich gay ! " 

Egad ! They rushed tumultuously. Just hundred mil- 
lions came; 

When one went down another rose to meet the sheeted 
flame. 

They reached the stout barbed wire, it snapped and let 
them through, 

And the blooming, yelping Dutchmen, were mixed up 
with our crew. 

But just then something happened. I heard cheering in 
the rear. 

And looking out behind me, saw some horsemen draw- 
ing near. 

Way out in front was Haig, sir, a-sitting stiff and 
straight ; 

His arm a-pointing forward, and his eyes were twin- 
kling hate. 

He looked just like a dandy. Just fixed for dress pa- 
rade; 



AT THE BATTLE OF YPRES 135 

And his hat was in his hand, sir, one hand on pommel 

laid. 
He cried out : " Stop them ! Comrades ! Don't let 

the beggars through ! 
What will they think in England? What will they 

think of yon ? " 

The line was breaking badly. Bnt the men seemed 
stirred with fire. 

They parried and they struck again, then rushed up to 
the wire. 

The Huns were swarming onward, a victory maddened 
pack, 

But the men of England held them and sent them reel- 
ing back. 

So give three cheers for General Haig, he's the man who 

led us on, 
When all seemed lost at Ypres, and our front had almost 

gone. 
He's a gentleman and scholar, a soldier tried and true, 
The man who kept the German horde at Ypres from 

breaking through! 



JUST AN UNKNOWN PRIVATE 

I'm just an unknown private 

And I fight for thirty per, 
I'm just an unknown private 

And I feel like a whipped cur, 
I cannot turn around my head, 

Lest some one says, " Look straight ! " 
I cannot want to go ahead, 

Lest some one says : " You wait ! " 

I'm truly patriotic, 

I really love to fight, 
If only they would let me loose, 

And let me do it right ; 
But the Sergeant he won't let me go, 

And the Corporal, he says, " Hi ! " 
Whene'er I want to go away! — 

I just as well might die ! 

I'd like to have something to eat, 

That is — something which is food ; 
I've had a quantity of grub, 

But none of it is good. 
There's been cinders in the coffee, 

And roaches in the bread. 
A bee once flew from out the pie 

And stung me in the head. 

I'm just an unknown private; 
But I'd like to ride a horse ; 

136 



JUST AN UNKNOWN PRIVATE 137 

I only wish that I could see 

My way to fame — of course, 
I'd like to be a General, 

Pull wires in the rear, 
Sleep in a real, true bedroom, 

And sup with bottled beer. 



But I'm just a bloomin' private, 

No one cares for me, 
I'm ordered here, I'm ordered there, 

I'm treated like a tree, 
I'm kicked out in the mud and mire, 

I'm told to " gee " and " haw," 
And the language of our officers 

Is sometimes awful raw. 



And no one loves a private, 

No one cares for us, 
We handle all the dirty work, 

And all we hear is — cuss ! 
We sure do all the fighting, 

And we sure bear all the blows, 
But no one cares for privates 

E'en if we die in rows. 



Oh, some day I'll be free again ! 

Give me a bed of down, 
My! My! a real cup of coffee, 

Oat-meal with sugar strewn, 



138 FAMOUS GENERALS 

A forty-foot cigar — you bet — 
A beach where sodas lurk, 

And then I will not care a rap 
If I've done all the work ! 



JOHN J. PERSHING 

COMMANDER OF THE ARMY OF 
THE UNITED STATES 



JOHN J. PERSHING 

COMMANDER OF THE AEMY OF 
THE UNITED STATES 

WHEN the United States entered the great 
world war it did so from purely chivalrous 
motives. England and France had borne the 
brunt of furious fighting for four years and their armies 
had lost their snap, or " pep." As a matter of fact, 
upon the western front the situation was about that 
which one calls " stalemate " in chess : neither side, 
Germans or Allies, could move either way. They were 
locked in each other's embraces in a deathly, vice-like 
grip. 

It was for the soldiers of the United States to turn 
the balance in favor of the Allies, and this they were 
intent upon because it became evident to all that it 
required more men than either France or England could 
muster to make a " clean up " and to push the German 
hordes back upon their own soil. The United States 
army was, therefore, utilized as a third team, put into 
the scrimmage when the game between the other two 
teams was about over. Fresh men can always beat an 
exhausted eleven, and so the United States Army, full 
of elan, well equipped, eager to do or to die, turned 
the balance in favor of the Allies and helped very ma- 
terially to win the day. 

141 



142 FAMOUS GENERALS 

To command the American troops was selected Gen- 
eral John Joseph Pershing, familiarly known as " Black 
Jack/' who was the son of a section foreman on one of 
the western roads. His only advantageous heritage was 
that of a sound and healthy body. Handicapped by 
poverty and lack of early opportunity, he created a ca- 
reer by sheer force of personality and will power. 

When a small boy the General determined that he 
wanted to lead the life of a soldier and he hoped to at- 
tain this ambition. Born in the Middle West, at La 
Clede, Missouri, quite naturally his schooling there was 
simple and rudimentary, as the facilities for education 
were meager, and he began to think that he could never 
be a fighting man. Young Pershing, however, learned 
enough to secure his admission to the Normal School at 
Kirksville, where, in order to support himself, he taught 
a class of negroes. He instructed these young charges 
with all the pains and the patience that he was to use 
later in the instruction of the cadets at West Point. 

Just at this time the Attorneys were having a great 
deal of business in the Middle West, so the youthful 
teacher decided that he wanted to follow in the steps 
of Abraham Lincoln and become a member of the learned 
profession of the law. But there was an opportunity 
offered for attaining a cadetship at West Point, and, 
after taking the competitive examination, young Per- 
shing found himself chosen to learn the profession to 
which he had always aspired — when not contemplating 
a legal career. The Missouri teacher and son of a sec- 
tion-hand boss now found himself a plebe at West Point. 

In the bracing air of the Hudson Kiver, the energetic 



JOHN J. PEESHING 143 

Pershing learned how to be a soldier and how to do 
" squads right." He also learned that physical fitness 
was an excellent thing to have, so that in after years the 
now famous General has always taken particular pains 
to keep himself in good condition. He has been a great 
horse-back rider, a good fencer, and keen shot and 
sportsman. He first was taught how to lead the athletic 
life at Uncle Sam's great military preparatory school. 

Graduating in 1886, our newly-fledged Lieutenant 
Pershing was sent out West where the wild Geronimo, 
the bloodthirsty Apache Chief, was murdering the 
peaceful settlers of Arizona and New Mexico. This 
arrogant savage was followed across the Mexican border 
and was chased for miles, until he was finally sur- 
rounded and captured in the mountains. It was the 
same ground over which Francisco Villa was to op- 
erate, with his Mexican bandits, against the United 
States in 1916. 

In this campaign the young and ardent lieutenant re- 
ceived his first distinction. He was highly compli- 
mented by General Miles for marching his troop, with 
its pack train, one hundred and forty-six miles in forty- 
six hours, and for bringing in every man and every 
pack animal in good condition. The same interest 
which he then displayed for the welfare of his men he 
now displays for the welfare of the great army under 
his command. 

Young Pershing was kept out on the plains and had 
a great deal of experience with the redskins, both peace- 
ful and war-like. In 1896, the Zuni Indians became 
obstreperous and had considerable trouble with the set- 



144 FAMOUS GENEEALS 

tiers in the neighborhood of their reservation. Per- 
shing happened to be near at the time, and when he 
learned that some cowboys had been imprisoned by the 
redskins, he hastened to their rescue. The Zunis had 
decided to torture their prisoners and to have a good time 
while they were doing it, but Lieutenant Pershing had 
arrived just in time. The cowboys were rescued before 
the Indians had an opportunity to vent their wrath upon 
the poor fellows. 

This incident was brought to the attention of the 
Lieutenant's superior officer, General Carr, who imme- 
diately recommended him to the Secretary of War, as an 
officer " high in his discretionary powers." Yet the 
ambitious soldier was not jumped forward to a Cap- 
taincy at this time. He had to win his way by slow and 
gradual stages, and by still harder work. 

The life of the now prominent General was practically 
without incident until the time of the Spanish war in 
1898. At this time he was Captain of the 9th Cavalry, 
and was sent immediately to Cuba in order to engage 
in the Santiago campaign. He was at the battles of 
San Juan and of Santiago, where he showed such brav- 
ery under fire that he was recommended for the brevet- 
commission of Colonel " for personal gallantry, untiring 
energy, and faithfulness." Keturning to the United 
States shortly after the surrender of the Spaniards, he 
was immediately dispatched to the Philippine Islands 
in order to subdue the war-like and vindictive Moros, 
a tribe which the Spaniards had not conquered in three 
hundred years. 

That Pershing conducted himself well is known to 



JOHN J. PERSHING 145 

all. The Moro was beaten into taking up " the white 
man's burden/' and yet when subjugated they were 
treated with such kindness and fairness by the great 
white chieftain that he was made an hereditary ruler 
with royal rank and power of life and death over the 
natives. This title was bestowed upon him by the Sul- 
tan of Oato, who also presented him with his son, a boy 
eighteen years of age. But the United States Govern- 
ment made him Governor of the Islands, and we now 
find him busied in attempting to conciliate these people 
whom Spain could never control. 

The Moros were treated with tact, firmness, and fair- 
ness. In spite of all of his kindness, Captain Pershing 
would wage unrelenting warfare against the islanders 
whenever they rebelled. His soldiers would chase them 
through jungles and fever-stricken swamps and would 
allow them no rest, whenever their hearts turned bad 
against the whites. Yet, when they were made to be- 
have, no one treated them with more gentleness or con- 
sideration than did the future leader of the American 
army in France. Governor Pershing learned the native 
language and also the traditions and customs of this is- 
land people. He heard their grievances, their needs, 
and their various troubles. In time the Moros appre- 
ciated that here was not an enemy but a friend, and they 
changed their vindictive hatred of the white invader 
to friendliness. 

The Governor of these fierce tribesmen conducted 
himself in such an able fashion that his merit was rec- 
ognized by President Theodore Roosevelt. In 1903 
Congress was asked to enact legislation which would 



146 FAMOUS GENERALS 

allow a promotion of Captain Pershing to a higher rank, 
without jumping him to the position of Brigadier Gen- 
eral. But Congress would not and did not act, so the 
energetic Roosevelt jumped the Governor to the Moros 
over the heads of eight hundred and sixty-two officers 
of grades senior to his, which was the longest jump in 
the history of army promotions. 

Because of his excellent conduct in the Moro cam- 
paign, the hard-working soldier had thus received un- 
solicited promotion, but in addition to this he bears the 
unique distinction of being the only army officer com- 
plimented by name in the President's message to Con- 
gress. Of course this compliment was paid him be- 
cause of his excellent conduct of the Moro campaign. 

But other compliments were handed him, for, when 
war broke out between Russia and Japan, he was se- 
lected as the military observer for the United States, 
and still later, when chaos reigned in Mexico, Pershing 
was asked to control the vast United States army col- 
lected upon the border, and later was ordered to head a 
punitive expedition which penetrated Mexican territory. 
The expedition was successful in that it had the desired 
effect : it put a stop to disorder in Northern Mexico, and 
although living in an unfertile and arid land, the Gen- 
eral succeeded in bringing out his army with but few 
deaths from disease and the missiles of snipers. 

Although seldom heard of before, the name of Per- 
shing was now upon every tongue, and he was one of 
the best known soldiers in the United States. The news- 
papers rang with the name of the leader of the Mexican 
Expedition. The moving pictures showed numerous 




JOHN J. PERSHING 



JOHN J. PERSHING 147 

scenes in Mexico and on the border, in which the erect, 
gray-haired general was to the front, and the paragraph 
writers spoke now of Pershing and not of Funston, the 
capturer of Aguinaldo, who had recently died of heart 
failure. 

The Mexican problem was now practically settled, the 
punitive expedition was withdrawn, and the army once 
again marked time on the border, while the fearful 
European war turned the once peaceful soil of France 
into a veritable quagmire of blood. By diplomacy and 
evasion, President Wilson endeavored to keep the United 
States out of war, but it was of no avail. The gods 
willed it that the German people would go stark, staring 
mad ; would disregard all laws of civilized warfare, and 
would drag the United States into the conflict by sheer 
barbarity and lack of decency for civilized conduct. 

When Congress had admitted that a state of war ex- 
isted with the German Government, troops were imme- 
diately dispatched to Paris, and from thence to the 
front. With them, as Commander, went Pershing. 
Stern, square-jawed, erect, soldierly-looking, he was a 
splendid and fitting example of the perfect military man 
produced by the West Point Military Academy. 

When asked to make an address, he told the French, 
that, as the representative of a Government which liked 
to see things done in a business-like manner, he was 
there to help to win the war as speedily as possible. 
And, still later, he made the remark : 

" Lafayette, we are here ! " 

He meant by this that the debt which the United 
States owed to France because of the assistance given 



148 FAMOUS GENERALS 

the struggling colonies by Lafayette and Rochambeau in 
1775-1776 was now to be repaid, and right glad was 
the United States to repay that debt tenfold. For 
when Uncle Sam was in knee-breeches, the French had 
helped the poor boy who was being spanked by his big 
brother, Great Britain. Now, the little boy had grown 
to be a very powerful man and the rich and prosperous 
old fellow was all ready to help out those who had given 
him assistance when he was poor and weak. A fine 
speech, General Pershing, was that you made, and all 
people are grateful to you for expressing the chivalrous 
sentiments of the vast majority of those who live in the 
United States. 

The soldiers of America made a good impression. 
They are lean, spare young men, all athletic and quick- 
thinking. Received with tremendous enthusiasm by 
the French, they were soon able to show what stuff they 
were made of on the battlefield, and went forward with 
such superb courage and elan, that a French General 
said that the only fault he had to find with the Ameri- 
cans was they were too brave and exposed themselves 
with a too great recklessness and dare-deviltry. 

As for the victories at Chateau-Thierry, Verdun, and 
the capture of the St. Mihiel Salient with ten thousand 
German prisoners, we cannot say that it was Pershing 
himself who did this, no — it was the United States 
soldiers who did it. Yet they were well directed by 
their keen-eyed General, and all acknowledge that he 
has well represented the country which dispatched him 
to the scene of conflict. As for his men, they fought 
with a superb courage and heroism. 



JOHN J. PEESHING 149 

Inheriting a love for sport from their English fore- 
bears, the Americans are naturally an athletic race. 
Fighting a battle is like playing a game of foot-ball, 
and it is thus natural that the United States soldiers 
took to fighting with a zest that was unusual. The 
Germans, on the other hand, are not a sport-loving 
people, their interest in athletics being mainly directed 
to gymnastic exercises. In all of Germany there are 
no inter-city games of any variety, or any indulgence 
in sport for sport's sake as in the United States and in 
England. The Germans have been made to become 
soldiers, and all of their youthful activity which Amer- 
ican and English boys put into sport is utilized by them 
in drill and military exercise. The Kaiser and his 
advisers made a race of docile soldiers and not a race 
of sportsmen. 

General Pershing is a splendid rider and has always 
excelled as a cavalryman. He is also a good shot and 
is fond of bird shooting. Like all Americans, he has a 
keen sense of humor and delights in a good joke, even 
at his own expense. No one played more practical 
jokes than he did when at West Point, and he has 
never lost his delight in the comic side of life. There 
is a keen twinkle in his clear eye which denotes the 
man of humor, and no one can laugh with more gusto 
than can this leader of the greatest army which Uncle 
Sam has ever put into the field. 

When his massive army of American troops arrived 
near the firing-line in France there was a crisis in the 
German offensive, so, upon March the 28th, General 
Pershing placed at the disposal of Marshal Foch, who 



150 FAMOUS GENERALS 

had been agreed upon as Commander-in-Chief of the 
Allied armies, all of the forces of the United States, to 
be used by him as he might decide. The first American 
division was, therefore, transferred from the Toul sector 
to a position in reserve at Chaumont en Vexin. Ten 
American divisions were sent to the British army area, 
where they were trained and equipped. 

On April 26th the 1st Division went into the firing 
line on the Montdidier sector on the Picardy battle- 
front. The Americans, confident of their training, 
were eager for a brush with the Germans. On the 
morning of May the 26th this division attacked the 
commanding German position, in front, taking the town 
of Cantigny with splendid dash and spirit. Here they 
held firmly against the Prussian artillery. This bril- 
liant action had an electrical effect upon the Allies, for 
it demonstrated the excellent fighting qualities of the 
Yanks, and it showed that the vaunted Prussian troops 
were not invincible. 

After this battle the Germans made a mighty thrust 
at Paris, which was their last and most strenuous effort 
to reach the goal of their ambition. Aiming at Chateau- 
Thierry, division after division was hurled upon the 
French lines which stood in the path of the German in- 
vasion. 

Every available man was placed at Marshal Foch's 
disposal, and the 3d American Division, which had just 
come from their preliminary training in the trenches, 
was hurried to the Marne Kiver. Its machine-gun 
battalions preceded the other units, and, starting for 
the firing line, were soon in active engagement with 




JAMES G. HARBOARD 



JOHN J. PEESHING 151 

the oncoming German divisions. Opposite Chateau- 
Thierry these troops successfully held the bridge-head, 
inflicting terrible slaughter upon the Prussian host. 

The brunt of the fighting, during the early part of 
this affair, was done by the Brigade of U. S. Marines, 
commanded by Major General James G. Harboard, U. 
S. A., under whom — as regimental commanders — 
were Colonels Neville and Catlin. The Major-General 
commanding was appointed Assistant Chief of Staff in 
France, May 15 th, 1917, and had a fine record as a 
soldier, from the time that he had graduated from the 
Infantry and Cavalry school in 1895, to the present 
moment. He had served in the Spanish War with dis- 
tinction and, although a volunteer, had been mustered 
out and appointed a 1st Lieutenant of the 10th U. S. 
cavalry, July 1st, 1898. He had served as Assistant 
Chief of the Philippine Constabulary, with the rank 
of Colonel from August 18th, 1903, to January 1st, 
1914. He was to receive the Legion of Honor for his 
gallant defense of Chateau-Thierry. 

Colonels Catlin and Neville had both graduated in 
the same class at the U. S. Naval Academy — that of 
1886 — and had both had varied service under the«Stars 
and Stripes. The former, now a Brigadier General, 
had commanded the Marine guard of the Maine, when 
blown up in HavarPa harbor, prior to the Spanish- Amer- 
ican war. He had swum ashore and had been promoted 
to be Captain, shortly afterwards. He had served in 
the army of occupation in Cuba, had received a Medal 
of Honor for gallant conduct — under fire — at Vera 
Cruz in April, 1914, had been sent to France in charge 



152 FAMOUS GENERALS 

of the 6th Regiment of Marines, and, when directing the 
advance of the fighting men of the sea, was badly 
wounded, on June 6th, 1917. 

Colonel Seville — now a Brigadier General — had 
been appointed a 1st Lieutenant in the Marine Corps, 
July 1st, 189*2, had served in the marine battalion in 
Cuba, and, on June 13th, 1898, had been appointed 
Captain by Brevet, for conspicuous conduct at the battle 
of Guantanamo, Cuba. He had served in China, during 
the Boxer rebellion, had been made a Major, Decem- 
ber 9th, 1904 ; was in the Cuban army of occupation in 
1906, was in charge of a brigade of Marines in Panama, 
in 1910, was a Lieutenant-Colonel at the battle of Vera 
Cruz in April, 1914, and had been given a Medal of 
Honor for conspicuous courage at this Mexican affair, 
April 21st, 1914. For two years he had been in charge 
of the American Legation Guard in China, and from 
that country he had been sent to France in December, 
1917, where he was placed in command of the 5th Regi- 
ment of Marines. For his gallant and meritorious 
services to France he was awarded the Croix de Guerre 
by the French Government. 

As the Marine Brigade was the first to strike the 
enemy in this portentous battle, and, as it suffered most 
heavily in losses, I will therefore devote myself to a 
description of the attack, based on the very excellent 
letter of Major Frank E. Evans to Major General 
George Barnett, Commandant of the U. S. Marine 
Corps. This is in no way to detract from the honor due 
the entire American fighting force in this sector, for 
all should be lauded for their daring and determination ; 



JOHN J. PERSHING 153 

a determination which seemed to be inspired by the 
spirit of the old crusaders, and which has fortunately 
ended in a victory for the Allied arms. 

The Marines had never before faced such odds, nor 
had they been confronted with such a crisis, for, were 
the Germans not stopped, they would soon be in Paris, 
and it would be dark for the Allied cause. All the 
officers and men felt this, and determined to give a good 
account of themselves. They left their camions near 
Paris to march to the sound of the guns. On the way 
to the front farm-wagons lumbered along with chickens 
and geese swung beneath in coops, filled with what the 
retreating farmers could gather together, within, and by 
their sides walked cattle driven by boys of nine or ten 
years of age. The mothers of these children crept 
along — weeping bitterly at the change of fortune which 
had forced them to leave their happy homes — while 
little tots trotted past near their mother's skirts. As 
the Marines advanced, the horror of war became en- 
graved in their very souls, their eyes seemed to burn 
with a crusading fire, and, as an old lady with snow- 
white hair came to view, seated like a noblesse upon 
the top of piled-up boxes and mattresses, in the best 
farm-cart, a mighty shout went up for, " The Grand 
Duchess, may she again be living in her devastated 
home." The town of Meaux was crowded with 
refugees; everywhere was confusion, disorder, retreat; 
the flotsam and jetsam of war before the descendants 
of Attila the Hun. 

The road was a living mass of men, women, children, 
soldiers, horses, teams, bales, boxes — confusion. 



154 FAMOUS GENERALS 

French dragoons trotted by with their lances at rest 
with officers as trim as if they had just left the bar- 
racks; trains of ambulances lumbered past, guns of all 
sizes — from the 75 ? s to the 210's — cars carrying staff 
officers whizzed by in a trail of saffron-colored dust, 
which coated men, wagons, horses, with a gray pall of 
mummified dirt. 

Late in the evening the Marine Brigade swept to 
the right, defiled from the road in the direction of the 
river Marne, and bivouacked on the roadside or in the 
fields. They were seven kilometers back of where they 
were to advance into line of battle, and, although orders 
were found to go into action that evening, the men were 
so sadly in need of rest that it was decided to camp 
for the night. The French then determined to let the 
Americans see what it was to fight the Boche next after- 
noon. The Poilus were hard pressed in front and they 
needed assistance badly ; numbers of fugitives streamed 
to the rear, crying out : " Look out, Yanks, the Boche 
can fight like wild men ! Look out, Yanks. You will 
get it in the morning ! " 

It was the first day of June, there was death and 
fire in the valley of the slow- winding river Marne; 
French videttes came into camp saying that the Boche 
had fought them with machine guns and hand grenades 
— they were advancing with great elan and courage, 
and that their best troops — the Prussian Guard — 
were in front. On the following day the French began 
to retreat, tired out with incessant fighting and greatly 
outnumbered, and that afternoon — by a prearranged 
plan — they dropped back, passed through the line of 



JOHN J. PERSHING 155 

the Americans, and thus made the Marines the front 
line. On the right were the French. With one com- 
pany, only, as a regimental reserve, the Soldiers of the 
Sea awaited the battle with calm determination. 

At five o'clock in the afternoon the Germans attacked 
in force. Across a field which looked as flat and green 
as a base-ball diamond they came swinging on, in two 
thin gray columns. Shoulder to shoulder, rank on 
rank, in silence and without confusion, the Kaiser's 
men faced a withering fire from machine-guns and rifles 
of the Americans and French. Overhead burst thin 
clouds from shrapnel, — the gunners did not seem to 
have the proper range — then they found it, and great 
gaps began to appear in the gray lines. It looked as 
if great patches of white daisies had begun to grow 
upon the green fields where those bull-doggish columns 
were moving. The white patches from the bursting 
shrapnel would roll away, and great holes could be seen 
in the gray masses of Germans. A hail of rifle-fire 
was being poured into them — no human beings could 
ever withstand such a rain of shot and shell. The 
columns staggered — stood still — ha! They broke! 
Hurray! they were retreating. 

An aeroplane was hovering in the air, watching the 
battle from a safe distance, and, when the French and 
American gunners got the range of the Hun lines, the 
operator signaled down " Bravo." As the Boche broke 
cover and ran to the woods for protection, they could 
be followed by ripples in the green wheat through which 
they coursed in their flight. Once in the woods they 
hurried from view — a mighty shout went up from the 



156 FAMOUS GENERALS 

thirsty throats of the Marines — first blood had been in 
favor of the men from over the sea, and, as the cheer 
welled over the wheat, a thrush caroled a song from a 
linden tree. 

The French crowded around in order to congratulate 
the Americans, for, that men should fire deliberately and 
use their sights to adjust the range, was beyond their 
experience. The rifle-fire had had a telling effect upon 
the Germans, for it was something that they had not 
counted on. They had steadily pushed back the weak- 
ened French — they expected to get to Paris — when 
they had run into this stone-wall defense. When they 
attacked, the Germans did not know that the Americans 
were in the front line, and they were astonished at the 
way in which the defense had stiffened up ; they realized 
that their days of triumphant progress were to be no 
more. 

It was only the beginning — the real fire-works broke 
on the sixth day of June — when it was decided to make 
a general advance upon the front of the entire Brigade, 
in order to recover territory and straighten out the lines. 
The 23d Infantry had been brought up to reinforce the 
Marines, and these fresh troops had been placed upon 
the right flank. In front of the eager troops was the 
Bois de Belleau (Wood of Belleau), and the little vil- 
lage of Bouresches. It was determined to attack at 5 
p. m. which would seem to be late in most countries, but, 
owing to the long twilight in France, this was an excel- 
lent moment to advance. The artillery preparation was 
short, and, before the Yanks pressed forward, one of the 
platoons of the machine-gun company laid down a bar- 



JOHN J. PEESHING 157 

rage. When all was ready, the men leaped from their 
trenches and went over the top. 

The woods were fairly alive with machine-guns, and, 
as the boys rushed forward, these spat a deadly fire into 
their ranks. On the left, the Germans fought stub- 
bornly, doggedly; they mowed down many a youthful 
and energetic American, yet, about 9 p. m., or after four 
hours of the struggle — a runner came in with word that 
the left had advanced as far as the right, and that the 
worst machine-gun nests were surrounded upon a rocky 
plateau. Word was also brought in that Colonel Catlin 
had been wounded, and one Marine officer ejaculated: 

" Too bad ! Too bad ! The bottom of the war has 
dropped out ! " 

The Colonel was standing up in a machine-gun pit 
with his glasses raised when a sniper drilled him clean 
through the right of his chest. He fell, was carried to 
the rear, and moved back to a dressing station. As 
Captain Laspierre went over to report to Captain Fe- 
land, a shell burst near him and he was shocked and 
gassed. Thus two marine officers were done away with 
in a few moments. The removal of Catlin was a great 
loss, as he was a man familiar with all that had to be 
done, had a complete grasp of military situations, and 
was looked up to by both officers and men. 

The fighting now was furious, and, as shells exploded 
above the dark woodland, both Germans and Americans 
grappled with each other in a deadly embrace. As 
darkness began to fall, word came to Marine Headquar- 
ters that the village of Bouresches had been captured; 
that the Americans — racing through a terrific barrage 



158 FAMOUS GENEKALS 

— bad entered the streets, where, after desperate street 
fighting, they had driven off the tenacious Germans. 
Prisoners began to stream back of the lines — grinning 

— as if delighted to be taken, and, with their hands in 
the air, murmured : " Kamerad ! Kamerad ! " As 
darkness fell, the fire from spitting guns reddened the 
skies, and dull roaring came from the exploding shells. 

Meanwhile, spitting telephone and telegraph wires 
sent back word of what the American boys were doing, 
and, far to the rear, the anxious Parisians, learning of 
the smashing advance by our men, shrugged their 
shoulders, smiled — even laughed — saying to each 
other: " Voila ! What did I tell you of these Ameri- 
cans. They are true fighters. The aid which we gave 
them with Lafayette will now be doubly repaid." And 
far, far, away, in the fresh, new land of America, the 
newsboys called the EXTKAS, and the eager purchasers 
read how the Marines were stemming the torrent at 
Belleau Wood. Men and women gathered in crowds — 
silently read the news, with drawn faces, anxiously 
awaiting the still later dispatches, including the casualty 
list. 

The fighting went on next day, and dawn saw Ameri- 
can and German in another furious embrace. Machine- 
guns sp'at, shrapnel screeched, big guns boomed, but on, 
on went the Yanks, on, on, right through the hail of 
lead and over the German trenches. So fierce was the 
attack that the Soldiers of the Sea lost nearly their en- 
tire force — of eight thousand engaged, all but two thou- 
sand were either killed, captured, or wounded. Pris- 
oners streamed through the French and American lines. 



JOHN J. PERSHING 159 

One Marine officer, Timberman, charged a machine- 
gun nest at the point of the bayonet and sent in seven- 
teen prisoners. Meanwhile, word came back to send 
up ammunition, so a truck raced down the road for 
Bouresches, guided by Lieutenant W. B. Moore — the 
Captain of the Princeton track team, and half-back of 
the foot-ball eleven. A fierce counter attack upon the 
town was repelled, and, as the Boche sullenly retired in 
the direction of Germany, they were greeted by victo- 
rious cheering from those who had survived this holo- 
caust. 

The Americans had captured Belleau Wood, Chateau- 
Thierry, and the smoking village of Bouresches. 
Grimly they watched the puffing lines of German fire, 
and grimly they took account of their many wounded, 
while struggling onward came the great guns to shell 
the Boche earthworks; and Pershing, far in the rear, 
yet vigilant, aggressive, confident that his boys would 
live up to their reputations of dare-devilish fighters, re- 
ceived the warm congratulations of the French. His 
boys had well sustained the athletic supremacy which 
they had always won for the old flag in athletic con- 
tests at the Olympic games. They had shown them- 
selves to be as competent to wage war as they had been 
to run the quarter mile. 

The Boche had had the fight knocked out of him and 
he admitted it. The artillery had simply pulverized the 
German earthworks and stone defenses. The last draft 
of prisoners taken had been cut off from supplies for 
three days by the incessant and rapid fire of the Yankee 
gunners. The prisoners varied in size : some being fine 



160 FAMOUS GENERALS 

big chaps — apparently retired farmers — but others be- 
ing undersized and weak-looking, many of them very 
young. 

At first the Germans thought that they were op- 
posed by Canadians, but this illusion was dispelled, the 
last lot of captives saying that they knew the Ameri- 
cans to have about seven hundred thousand men, and 
that they did not wish to fight them, for the Yanks gave 
them no rest, and their artillery punished them ter- 
ribly. Many diaries were taken from both the dead and 
living, and these started off with " Gott Mit Uns," and 
boasted of what the Germans were going to do to the 
Americans. Then they proceeded to tell of lying in 
the woods under a hell of steel, and they spoke of the 
big, brave Americans who seemed to know no fear. 
The papers would usually end with the statements that 
they knew themselves to be defeated, for, with the vast 
horde of fresh Americans in the line, it would be impos- 
sible for them to keep up their drive. 

As the Germans indulged in gloomy forebodings of 
coming disaster one Yankee officer tipped this message 
to the rear : 

" The chickens have arrived and they are all scratch- 
ing." 

Not only were they scratching, but the cocks were 
soon to be all crowing. The five days of fighting had 
resulted in the capture of the village of Barzy-le-Sac by 
the First Division, who also had gained the heights above 
Soissons. The Second Division took Beau Benaire 
farm and Viceizy, and, upon the second day of their ad- 
vance, took Tigny. Both Divisions captured seven 



JOHN J. PEESHING 161 

thousand prisoners and over one hundred pieces of ar- 
tillery. 

As the Prussians were being driven back in this sec- 
tor, to the south — at St. Mihiel — combined French, 
English, and American land and air forces started an- 
other big drive. At 5 a. m. on September 12th, seven 
American Divisions advanced, assisted by a limited 
number of tanks, preceding this attack by four hours of 
artillery preparation. 

As at Chateau-Thierry and Belleau Wood, the Ameri- 
cans here fought like demons. Preceded by groups of 
wire-cutters and other scouts, armed with bangalore tor- 
pedoes, they went through the successive bands of 
barbed-wire which protected the German front-line and 
supporting trenches in irresistible waves and on 
scheduled time. Half hidden by fog, the gallant Yanks 
quickly routed the enemy, already demoralized by the 
furious artillery fire. At the cost of only seven thou- 
sand casualties, mostly light, the Americans captured 
ten thousand prisoners, four hundred and forty-three 
guns, a great quantity of war material, and released 
the inhabitants of many villages from the grasp of the 
terrible invader. The battle-line was soon established 
in a position to threaten Metz. 

General Pershing, in his official report, says that : 
" T«he signal success of the American First Army, in 
its first offensive, was of prime importance. The Allies 
found that they had a formidable army to aid them, and 
the enemy learned formally that he had one to reckon 
with." 

In fact, the great victory at the St. Mihiel salient had 



162 FAMOUS GENERALS 

prepared the way for the supreme effort of the Allies to 
win a conclusive victory. The American army moved 
forward at once to its greatest battle — the fight at the 
river Meuse. 

This action began on the night of September 25th, 
when the Americans took the place of the wearied 
French on this long sector. The attack opened on Sep- 
tember 26th, and the Americans drove through all the 
wire entanglements in their path, across No Man's Land, 
and took all of the enemy's front-line positions. They 
pushed steadily onward, and eastward. On November 
6th, a Division of the 1st Corps reached a point on the 
Meuse opposite Sedan, the strategic goal for which the 
French Commander, General Foch, had aimed. Now, 
the Yanks had cut the main line of communications of 
the Kaiser's mighty forces, and nothing but an armis- 
tice or a surrender, could save the German army from 
complete disaster. 

Forty German divisions had faced the overseas fight- 
ers in these battles near the river Meuse. Between 
September 26th and November 6th the Americans took 
twenty-six thousand and fifty-nine prisoners and four 
hundred and sixty-eight guns. They had put a final 
nail into the coffin of the Kaiser and his armies of 
would-be world conquerors by their aggressive advance. 

And that General Pershing is appreciative of the 
valor of his noble " boys " may be seen from the fol- 
lowing : 

" I pay the supreme tribute to our officers and soldiers 
of the line. When I think of their heroism, their pa- 
tience under hardships, their unflinching spirit of of- 



JOHN J. PEESHING 163 

fensive action, I am filled with emotion which I am 
unable to express. Their deeds are immortal, and they 
have earned the eternal gratitude of their country." 

So, General Pershing, we salute you ! Chosen to 
command an army of honorable deliverers, who have 
been truthfully spoken of as Pershing's Crusaders, you 
have seen that your men fought fairly, conducted them- 
selves cleanly, and have dealt with innocent non-com- 
batants with chivalrous courtesy. Arriving in stricken 
France at the propitious moment, your troops, by their 
dash and spirit, have broken the back-bone of the invad- 
ing Boche, have driven the Germans from Alsace and 
Lorraine, and are now policing this territory, once the 
property of France, and soon to be returned to its former 
owner, as is the wish of the French people, and the 
desire of many of the inhabitants of this border country. 

Conducting yourself as a man of high moral and 
intellectual courage, you have set a splendid example 
for future officers to emulate, and you have brought both 
credit and distinction to the flag of the United States, 
which has never been unfurled in battle for an ignoble 
cause, and which will always, we trust, be the symbol of 
justice, equality, and fair dealing to all people, whether 
they be strong and prosperous, or weak and poverty- 
stricken. 



PERSHING'S CRUSADERS 

The eagle's tail was twitching, 

And the eagle's eyes shone fire 
Eor the Kaiser's men had sunk a ship 

That roused his native ire. 
The ship was filled with helpless babes, 

With women weak and frail, 
The torpedo's beak had breached the keel 

That bore the Royal mail. 

The eagle snapped its pointed bill, 

And screamed a cry of hate, 
Which ran from Maine to Texas, 

From the Race to Golden Gate. 
The eagle soared into the blue 

And cried : " My children, hear ! 
Ye must seize your sword of battle, 

For the day of wrath is near." 

And the cry reechoed 'cross the land 

And stirred the peaceful men, 
Who toiled o'er desks and farmland, 

O'er vales and mountain glen. 
It started from their slumbers 

The sons of North and South, 
Who'd bared their breasts in ancient strife 

And dared the cannon's mouth. 

" Rouse ye — O men of Dixie ! " 

Cried the eagle from the sky, 
164 



PERSHING'S CRUSADERS 165 

" Rouse ye — O men of Oregon ! 

Of the Rocky Mountains high ! 
Rouse ye — O sons of Florida ! 

Of the Everglade's lagoon! 
Come forth, men of Iowa ! 

You'll all be needed soon ! 

" Come forth, ye men of Wall Street ! 

Ye sons of chance and gain, 
Come forth, you mercenary souls! 

For your own kin has been slain. 
Beneath the deep Atlantic waves, 

Your sons have sunk to sleep, 
Struck by a foul, unlooked-for blow, 

Unchallenged from the deep ! 

" Come forth from wide Nebraska's plains ! 

From Colorado's heights, 
Come forth from Mississippi's vales ! 

Dakota's blazing lights, 
Where forge and stamp-mill furnish gold, 

Where sluice-box bars the stream, 
In bold Alaska's rushing rills, 

Where yellow pebbles gleam. 

" Come now, O sturdy sons of toil ! 

To aid poor, bleeding France, 
For on her soil the foe has come, 

Has led a Devil's dance. 
A wild debauch of butchery, 

A fierce melee of blood. 



166 FAMOUS GENEKALS 

Against her ancient cities has 

Been loosed the War-King's flood." 

And the solemn tread of tramping feet 

Could be heard from sea to sea, 
As the mighty hosts were gathered 

Which were pledged to make men free, 
And the gray-green ships plied east and west, 

And the twinkling bar-lights gleamed, 
While the hosts of freedom sped to France, 

Where the endless war-trains streamed. 

No Richard Coeur de Lion was there 

With battle-axe and mail, 
To lead these fresh crusaders through 

The belching, leaden hail, 
No Knight in golden armor 

Was there to cheer them on, 
As they marched forth into battle, — 

A silent, eager throng. 

Instead, a square- jawed man of Fate, 

Who had seen the redskins quail, 
Who had chased the grim Apaches 

Where the timber vermin wail, 
Who had fought o'er fever-ridden swamps 

In distant tropic lands, 
Who had supped with Igoroto Chiefs 

Where the bending palm-tree stands. 

For these were new Crusaders : 
No crusade half so good 



PERSHING'S CRUSADERS 167 

As that which Pershing led to France 

To stem the German flood. 
For the eagle's sons had answered 

The call of France for aid, 
And all the world will testify 

To the noble part they played. 



HENRI P. PETAIN 

DEFENDER OF VERDUN 



HENRI P. PETAIN 

DEFENDER OF VERDUN 

TWO hundred thousand of the Kaiser's picked men 
lie in their last sleep at Verdun ; a tribute to the 
valor of the French soldiers, who said : " They 
shall not pass." Over two hundred tons of copper have 
been aimed at Verdun — only to leave the fortress with 
the Tricolor floating over it. And above the fallen 
timber, the wrecked stone work, the broken and shattered 
windows, rises the name of the heroic defender, General 
Petain. 

This general, like Marshal Foch, was little known 
prior to the great war. If he had his way, he would be 
little known to-day, for like Foch and Haig — he shuns 
the limelight. When Ferdinand of Bulgaria decorated 
him for his lectures, he put his decoration into his 
pocket. He has persistently refused to be photographed 
since the war began, and, when urged to place his 
lectures at the Ecole de Guerre into book form, he said, 
with a shrug of the shoulders, " What's the use % " 

The battle of the Marne in the first German drive, 
had proved to the Germans that Paris could not be 
reached by that route, so to the Crown Prince was in- 
trusted the task of attacking the French line at Verdun, 
of overwhelming it, and of piercing the defense. With 
the army under his command he hoped to press on to 

171 



172 FAMOUS GENEEALS 

Paris. His high hopes were not to be realized, for in 
the way stood those French who were not " degenerates," 
as the Germans were wont to call them prior to the 
great war. 

The second battle opened with considerable success 
for the Prussian army, and, realizing that the French 
forces were not handled in the proper manner, General 
Joffre sent Petain to command the line. From the very 
moment that he arrived, the most colossal effort of the 
Germans since the battle of the Marne was completely 
checked. Then, when victory was certain and Paris 
seemed to be secure, everyone began to ask : " Who is 
this Petain? " 

When the war broke out the defender of Verdun was 
but a Colonel of Infantry — the Thirty-third of Arras. 
He was known to be a silent man, who shunned both 
photographers and reviewers. To his soldiers he had 
often said : " My watchwords are patience, confidence, 
independence, persistence, energy, tact, speed, concen- 
tration. Utilize all of these and you cannot fail to hold 
your own with your opponent." 

The general is an excellent horseman and can fence 
equally well with both hands. He has made it a point 
to always keep himself in perfect physical condition, 
and has endeavored to make himself a perfect officer. 
He has said that he has minutely studied over five hun- 
dred tactical and strategic encounters and that every 
officer — to be a good officer — should do likewise. 

In lecturing to his men, Petain would often remark : 
" A troop becomes invincible when prepared in advance 
to sacrifice itself, for it prepares, in advance, to make 




HENRI P. PETAIN 



HENRI P. PETAIN 173 

the enemy pay the dearest possible price for its sacri- 
fice." He also believes in speed and quickness upon the 
march. " The constant acceleration of speed is one of 
the laws of progress," he has often remarked. "If you 
have a horse, use it ! Don't just sit on it and let it carry 
you around. Get away from men at times and be your 
own scout." 

Someone asked a French officer one day why it was 
that Petain was only a colonel (not a well-known colonel, 
like Roosevelt) when the war broke out. To this was 
given the following answer, which speaks for itself: 

" Because he has a horror of advertising ; because he 
hates politicians ; because he is a man of uncompromis- 
ing opinions, and he has made enemies ; because he be- 
lieves that he is right and that the men who differ from 
him are wrong ; because while other officers — whom I 
could mention — were busy with the f anf orade of 
brass buttons and ceremonies of garrison life, and were 
bent upon getting their names and photographs in the 
papers, Petain was only occupied in one thing, training 
his officers and training himself. When an editor asked 
him for some account of his military career, he sent 
back three dates, and that was all. He has steadily 
refused to be photographed since the war; the only 
photograph of him being in the Thirty-third Regiment 
book. He is tactician, strategist, but, above all and to 
the last ounce of him, a fighter." 

In those dark days, just prior to the battle of the 
Marne, when all France was hurrying to the front, 
Petain was promoted to be General of Division and was 
sent to rally and reorganize the remnants of the Third 



174 FAMOUS GENERALS 

Corps, which — in bad disorder — were in retreat be- 
fore the advancing Huns. The general took charge 
with little to do, and, sitting on his horse beside a bridge 
over which the soldiers were retreating, made each one 
march calmly past him and look up to see what a grim 
fellow was leading them. In his hand he held a pistol 
which he gripped firmly and occasionally shook in the 
direction of the oncoming invaders. 

The men were apparently imbued with a new spirit, 
for on September 21st was issued an army order to the 
effect : 

" Petain — General Commanding the Sixth Division 
of Infantry — has, by his example, his tenacity, his 
calmness under fire, his incessant foresight, his continual 
intervention at the right moment, obtained from his di- 
vision during fourteen days of consecutive fighting, a 
magnificent effort, resisting repeated attacks night and 
day, and the fourteenth day, in spite of his losses, re- 
pelling a final, very violent assault." 

A bit later, with General Sangle de Carey, he was 
told by General Castelnau to break the German front 
in Champagne. The French here fought with tenacity 
and fury, as only those who are defending their homes 
could do. It was Petain' s army which dealt a stubborn 
blow, which took hundreds of cannons, and thousands of 
prisoners. 

With these two successes to his credit;, " Papa " 
Joffre did well when he did not hesitate to promote this 
stern, faithful soldier to be the leader of the defenders 
of Verdun. " Nach Verdun — Paris!" the Crown 
Prince is said to have remarked, as he raised a glass of 




MAURICE P. SERRAIL 



HENRI P. PETAIN 175 

stolen champagne on high. But General Petain is said 
to have murmured : " Nach Verdun — Metz, Sedan, 
and then — Berlin ! " 

The Germans meant to take Verdun when they made 
the first big drive upon Paris. They did all that they 
could to approach it and to besiege it. The Third 
German Army under the Crown Prince fought inces- 
santly with the main object of isolating, of investing, 
and of taking Verdun. Assisted by his counselor, Von 
Eichhorn, the Crown Prince did all in his power to 
overwhelm and destroy the Third French Army under 
General Serrail. 

It was September 8th and 9th, 1915. General Foch 
was hurling back the Germans on the Marne, but many 
more Germans under the Crown Prince — the 3d, 5th 
and 16th, 1st Bavarian, and two Reserve Corps — were 
approaching Verdun, the eastern pivot of the French 
armies between Toul and Belfort. Here is where the 
most important railway lines of northeastern France 
converge, and here is where the Germans would have 
found a great arsenal and a huge amount of supplies. 
Its capture would have very materially altered the 
course of the war. 

The French under Serrail had ten infantry divisions 

— the Crown Prince fifteen. Outnumbered, the 
French had to retreat, and General Serrail had a diffi- 
cult and thankless task to perform. As he fell back 
through the broken and wooded country of the Argonne 

— so as not to lose connection with the other French 
armies on the left — he had to protect Verdun from 
North, East, and West. The Crown Prince had such 



176 FAMOUS GENERALS 

great numbers that he could deploy around his opponent 
and could surround and drive into Verdun a part of 
the French army. This he did. 

To the east of Verdun German reserve divisions made 
their way, on the right bank of the Meuse, with the 
object of crossing the river at St. Mihiel, and joining 
the German force on the left bank. This would have 
divided Serrail's army, and such a success would have 
heavily counter-balanced the success which the French 
were then having in the Marne. 

On September 8th, the army of the gallant Serrail 
reached the limit of its retirement, and, on the day 
following, the French counter-attacked along the entire 
front. Two cavalry corps were sent, meanwhile, to 
check the progress of the Germans, who had succeeded 
in crossing the Meuse, near St. Mihiel. 

The French fought valiantly and success was theirs, 
even as at the Marne. At St. Mihiel the Germans were 
driven back with heavy losses across the Meuse ; on the 
left, the 3d German army corps — which was endeavor- 
ing to reach Bar le Due — was thrown back, after a 
murderous struggle. In the center the 16th German 
army corps lost eleven batteries, destroyed by the French 
75's. Verdun was saved for the time being. 

The Germans retreated to the Aisne and intrenched, 
leaving many prisoners, guns, and other booty behind 
them, but Verdun was not to be left alone. In Febru- 
ary, 1916, one of the greatest and most sanguinary 
battles of the war began before the ill-fated town. In 
the presence of the Kaiser, the army of the Crown 
Prince started a determined and desperate drive against 



HENRI P. PETAIN 177 

the great French fortress. For ten days the battle 
raged on the plains, in the forests, and on the hills before 
Verdun, and the loss of life, on both sides, was some- 
thing appalling. 

By February 26th, after six days of continuous fight- 
ing, the Germans had driven the French line along 
several miles of front, had occupied several villages a 
few miles north of Verdun, had hurled the French from 
a peninsula of the Meuse, formed by a bend in the river, 
about six miles from the city, and had carried by storm 
the outlying fort of Douaumont, at the northeast corner 
of the Verdun fortifications. Here the triumphant ad- 
vance was halted by the French in a series of brilliant 
counter-attacks, and the German offensive died down un- 
til March 1st, when it was a^ain renewed. The losses 
to the German army, up to this time, had been about 
one hundred and seventy-five thousand men, including 
between forty thousand and fifty thousand killed. 

Heavy reinforcements had been brought up by the 
Germans, and it is estimated that the troops engaged in 
the attack numbered at least five hundred thousand, as- 
sisted by all the artillery used in the Serbian campaign 
and part of that formerly employed on the Russian 
front. 

Here is where Petain was called upon to lead the 
French army of defense ; Serrail, as we have seen, hav- 
ing done a masterful piece of work in eluding and 
outwitting the Germans in their advance of the former 
year. The battle lasted from February the 21st to 
April the 15th. There was a slight rest, and then the 
offensive was assumed again, the attacks on Verdun 



178 FAMOUS GENERALS 

continuing until June 10th. But the French stood first 
under an avalanche of shot and shell, and drove back 
wave after wave of Teutonic infantry. Here was the 
fiercest fighting of the war, the Germans losing fully 
three hundred thousand men in killed, wounded, and 
prisoners; the French perhaps three-quarters of that 
number, and the British one hundred thousand. 

Finally, on October 24th the French took the village 
and Fort of Douamont; also Thiaumont, the Haudro- 
mont quarries, La Carlette Wood, and the trenches 
along a four-mile front to a depth of two miles. The 
ground retaken was the same that the Crown Prince's 
army had required two months of hard fighting to 
capture. 

On the 24th four thousand German prisoners were 
taken, and, on the day following, Petain's men began to 
encircle Fort Vaux, the only one of the outer fortifica- 
tions which remained in German hands. The German 
attempts to regain lost ground were fruitless and four 
of their separate attacks were beaten back. By the 
first of November the French had taken seven thousand 
prisoners. 

Flushed with victory, on November 4th the French 
began the attempt to take the village of Vaux, held by 
the Crown Prince, and gained a foothold in the shot- 
riddled town. Xext day the entire village was captured 
and also that of Damloup. This closed the furious 
affair. 

The long and bloody struggle for Verdun thus ap- 
parently ended, although artillery duels still continued 
at varying intervals. The French had shown an in- 



HENRI P. PETAINT 179 

domitable courage in its defense — first under Serrail 
in 1915 — again under Petain in continuous fighting 
from February to November, 1916. The laurels for 
this prolonged and bitter struggle rested entirely with 
the French ; and right nobly they had fought the Prus- 
sian war machine to a standstill. Well might the popu- 
lace of Paris cry vociferously: '' Vive la France! 
Vive Petain! " 

Petain alone did not win the great fight, it was the 
French themselves ; for no one man — no matter what 
his personal attributes — could ever have enthused his 
troops to the proper point of sacrifice that was necessary 
for the defense of the grim fortress. Modern warfare 
was here seen in its panoply of terror. The town, the 
farms, the countryside were transformed into a vast 
scene of ruin and desolation, while many a poor soldier 
went completely insane from the ghastly horrors of the 
battle. So, to the cry which is now heard 'round the 
world — " Vive le General Petain!" — let us add an- 
other vociferous chorus — " Vive le Poilu! — Hurrah 
for the brave soldiers of la Belle France!" 



VERDUN 

Grim city on the winding Meuse, 

Proud in ruins, bleak and stern; 

Thy frowning battlements of old, 

Lie prostrate — grass and fern 

Are trampled, torn 'neath hobnailed boots, 

While o'er the vale the brown owl hoots, 

And cries in mournful, wistful notes : 

u Where are the cheers from Gallic throats, 

Where are the legions, rank on rank, 

The pride of Prussia? Where the clank 

Of war-like steel? 0' er all a hush I 

I thought that nought would stem their rush! " 

Grim city, with your shattered towers, 
Where once pealed merrily the bells ; 
The flag of France still floats above, 
While hark ! I hear th' exultant yells 
Of val'rous French. They cry and sing, 
And from their windows banners fling, 
And shout with loud, resounding cheers : 
" Where are the Huns with evil leers, 
Who boasted that they'd take our land? 
Where is that Kaiser s mailed hand? 
Crushed by the pluck of the valiant few! 
Crushed by the grit of the men in blue/' 

Hail city! Stricken, battered, shorn 
Of all your ancient splendid art. 

180 



VERDUN 181 

Your name for all time is revered, 

By those w.ho love a hero's part. 

Ancient battlements ! Stand in glory ! 

Stand among the great in story ! 

A requiem our brass-band plays : 

" City blessed for all days; 

Holy city of Verdun, 

Where at last we stopped the Hun; 

With Troy and Carthage take thy place, 

Sacrificed to save thy race/' 



ARMANDO DIAZ 

COMMANDER OF THE VICTORIOUS 
ARMIES OF ITALY 



ARMANDO DIAZ 

COMMANDER OF THE VICTOKIOUS 
AKMIES OF ITALY 

WHEN Germany began her attack upon France 
the Italians were neutral. But in a short 
time these people, who had at one time gov- 
erned all of Southern Europe, threw their allegiance 
to the side of the Allies and entered into the war with 
all the might which they possessed. Their differences 
with Austria-Hungary dated back from ancient times 
and were mainly because of territorial aggressions upon 
the part of the Dual Monarchy. 

When Lord Byron visited Northern Italy in 1816, 
and established his residence in Venice, he was a keen 
observer of the conditions in the midst of which he 
lived. Like all Englishmen, he loved liberty, but about 
him he saw only tyranny and oppression. He pictured 
the brutality of the Austrian domination of northern 
Italy in these lines : 

" An Emperor tramples where an Emperor knelt. 
Kingdoms are shrunk to provinces, and chains clank 
over sceptered cities." 

The great poet was disgusted with what he saw, and 
two years later wrote the following words from Ravenna 
— in the Papal States — where Austrian influence was 
supreme : 

" Of the state of things it would be difficult and not 

185 



186 FAMOUS GENERALS 

very prudent to speak at large, the Huns opening all 
letters. I wonder if they can read them when they 
open them ? If so, they may see, in my most legible 
hand, that I think them scoundrels and barbarians, their 
Emperor a fool, and themselves more fools than he ; all 
of which they may send to Vienna for anything I care. 
They have got themselves masters of the Papal police 
and are bullying away ; but some day or other they will 
pay for it all. It may not be very soon — but I sup- 
pose Providence will get tired of them at last, and 
show that God is not an Austrian." 

The famous poet had the correct idea. The day of 
reckoning for the Austrian oppressors of poor Italy was 
delayed, but it had to come at last, and it remained for 
General Diaz with his army to free northern Italy from 
the invader and destroyer of Italian liberty. 

Lord Palmerston, a prominent British statesman, had 
as great a sympathy with the oppressed Italians as had 
Lord Bryon. Here is what he said, as far back as the 
year 1849 : 

" The Austrian Government knows no method of 
administration but what consists in flogging, imprison- 
ing, and shooting. The Austrians know no argument 
but force. As to working upon their feelings of gener- 
osity and gentlemanlikeness, that is out of the question. 
The real fact is — the Austrians have no business in 
Italy at all and have no real right to be there. The 
right they have is founded upon force of arms and 
the treaty of Vienna. The treaty of Vienna they them- 
selves set at naught when they took possession of Cracow. 
They cannot claim the treaty when it suits their purpose, 



ARMANDO DIAZ 187 

and at the same time when it suits their purpose they 
reject it. Austria has never possessed Italy as part of 
her Empire, but has always held it as a conquered ter- 
ritory. There has been no mixture of races. The only 
Austrians have been the troops and the cure officers. 
She has governed as you govern a garrison town, and 
her rule has always been hateful." 

In the time of Napoleon the First, Austria was Great 
Britain's ally, but not so in 1914. In 1859 Count Buol, 
an Austrian leader, said to the British Minister at 
Vienna : " You have your ideas of liberty, of consti- 
tutional government, of religion, all in opposition to 
ours — but you are with us. We were your allies 
against Napoleon I, we have the same political interests ; 
we have mutual friends and mutual enemies, on that 
terrain we meet." 

In 1914 the German horrors in Belgium stirred the 
hearts of the Italians even as they did those of the 
people of the United States. The Italian population 
heard — at the same time — a great cry from the north- 
ern provinces of the peninsula, which begged to be 
redeemed from the crushing yoke of Austrian domina- 
tion. The philosophy of the Austro-Germans was that 
whosoever possesses the necessary strength to subjugate 
others is also entitled to do so without committing any 
injustice. The Italians, like the Americans, realized 
that people who had such a philosophy must be humbled 
to the dust by means of force before they could be made 
to treat others as they wished to be themselves treated. 
Stimulated by such reasoning and reasons, Italy entered 
the war. 



188 FAMOUS GENEEALS 

Reinforced by well-trained Prussian regiments, the 
Austrian soldiers swept down from the north to conquer 
and ravish Italy as the Huns had done in the time of 
Attila, and the Goths and Vandals in later years. At 
first they were successful, even as the Prussians were 
successful in France and in Belgium. For forty years 
the Prussians had been preparing for " Der Tag " and 
a forty-year military preparation is bound to bring 
splendid results at first. Yet after the Italians had 
fought for a time, they rallied to the attack with such 
force that the Austrian armies were overwhelmingly de- 
feated. Italy, therefore, played a very important role 
as a decisive factor in the war. 

On August 2d, 1914, three days before England de- 
clared war upon Germany, the Italian Government de- 
cided upon neutrality. 

This news was immediately communicated to the 
Italian Charge d' Affaires at Paris, as the Italian Am- 
bassador was absent. The telegram arrived at one 
o'clock in the morning. Without delaying an instant, 
the Charge d' Affaires went to see Monsieur Viviani, 
the President of the French Council, and came to his 
room. When he entered, the President turned pale and 
started backwards, feeling sure that only the decision of 
Italy to throw in her lot with Germany would have 
caused this Italian diplomat to come to see him at that 
early hour. But when he had read the telegram, Vi- 
viani immediately began to shout. Why this action ? 

In less than half an hour Viviani had ordered the 
mobilization — north of Paris — of almost a million 
men whom France would otherwise have been obliged 



ARMANDO DIAZ 189 

to keep upon her eastern and southern frontier to pro- 
tect herself from possible attack on the part of Italy. 
These millions of men stopped the German advance, 
won the great battle of the Marne, and thus saved France 
from being crushed underneath the cruel heel of Prus- 
sian militarism. 

Thus Italy may be said to have saved France, because 
of her attitude of neutrality. 

General Diaz, who commanded the Italian army in 
the final campaign of the great world war, has grown 
up with, and in, the Italian army. Like Petain and 
Foch, his modesty is his chief characteristic, unless you 
take into consideration his love of hard work, which is 
also a strong attribute of character. He is strong of 
body, vigorous of mind, and keenly intelligent. A fine 
horseman and swordsman, none can hold their own 
better at manly sport than the General of the victorious 
Italian troops. 

With over a milllion men under arms, Austria 
launched her offensive. Her soldiers advanced toward 
Venice, crossed the Piave, and here matters looked badly 
for the Italians. This was on June 15th, 1918. But 
a general retreat before the Italian counter-attacks be- 
gan just a week later, which rapidly developed, at some 
points, into a rout. Soon a jubilant dispatch from 
Rome announced : " The enemy has been beaten back 
across the Piave from Montello to the sea " ; and General 
Diaz, himself, reported : " A great victory, with the 
enemy repulsed at all points with very heavy losses and 
with his ' pride broken.' " 

Austria lost a great number of men. According to 



190 FAMOUS GENERALS 

the Italian estimates they were nearly two hundred 
thousand, including forty-five thousand prisoners and a 
great quantity of guns and ammunition. Italy's entire 
losses in killed, wounded, and prisoners — according to 
a semi-official dispatch from Borne, was only forty thou- 
sand, although Vienna extravagantly claimed that num- 
ber of prisoners alone, and put the total Italian casual- 
ties at one hundred and fifty thousand for the first ten 
days of the battle. Yet the fact remained that — strik- 
ing with her greatest military strength, after six months 
of preparation, — Austria was hurled back in disastrous 
defeat on a hundred mile front. Austria had promised 
her soldiers that this would be the last stroke to put 
Italy out of the war, but the gigantic offensive met 
with no such result. 

As for General Diaz, it cannot be said that he en- 
joyed his victory, for although accustomed to the evil 
sights of battle, so many of his brave soldiers perished, 
that he felt a great sorrow instead of a great jubilation. 
Born in Naples, October 4th, 1861, of an old Spanish 
family which had emigrated to Italy with Charles the 
Third in the 18th Century, this warrior has the blood 
of military heroes coursing in his veins. His father 
was Colonel Ludovico Diaz, of the Eoyal Naval En- 
gineers, and for several years a director in the ship- 
yards of Naples, Leghorn, and Venice. The Colonel 
married Baroness Irene Ceconi, and had four children : 
Signora Ludovica Morelli, wife of Colonel Mauricio 
Morelli ; Maria, widow of a Monsieur de Bosa ; Cheva- 
lier Cicorgio Diaz, Boyal Prosecutor in Perugia, and 
Armando Diaz, the General-in-Chief of the Italian 




ARMANDO DIAZ 



ARMANDO DIAZ 191 

forces. The estimable Colonel Diaz died when young, 
and his four children were educated by Baron Luigi 
Ceconi, brother of Signora Diaz. 

Young Armando Diaz had a youth similar to that 
of most Italian boys. He grew up rather wildly until 
he was sent to the College of Annunziatella at Naples — 
the oldest military institution in all of Italy. But he 
did not remain here, and in 1878 entered the military 
Academy at Turin. He was graduated as a Second 
Lieutenant of Artillery in 1881. 

Italy was peaceful at the time so the young soldier 
saw no active service. He served for several years in 
the 10th Regiment of Artillery, and in 1889 became 
Captain of the First Regiment. He then entered the 
War School at Turin, and, after two years of study, 
joined the General Staff. He was promoted to the 
position of Colonel in 1911. 

Shortly after this he saw real fighting, for Italy had 
a war with the Turks, upon the northern coast of Africa. 
The cause of this war was, of course, territorial expan- 
sion, both people — Turks and Italians — desiring a 
piece of African soil as a colonial empire. In the 
Libyan War — so called — Colonel Diaz was prominent 
in the famous battle of Zara, where, although badly 
wounded, he remained on the firing line until the end of 
the fighting. This victory succeeded in gaining for the 
Italians that for which they strove, and the Turks had 
to relinquish their hold upon this particular part of 
African soil. 

Colonel Diaz saw no more active service until 1914, 
when he was appointed Chief of the Secretary's Office 



192 FAMOUS GENERALS 

of General Pollio of the Italian General Staff. Pro- 
moted to be Major General in the same year, he was 
appointed to be Commandant of the Siena brigade, and 
later was made Commandant on the Staff of Dnke a' 
Aosta's Army. He served here until Italy joined the 
Allies in warfare against the central powers. 

In 1916, as Lieutenant General, this now famous 
soldier was placed in command of a division, and this 
body of troops fought with so much courage that they 
were mentioned several times for bravery in the heroic 
fight on the Caiso. In June, 1916, General Cadorna 
gave General Diaz command of the 23d Army Corps. 
In November, 1917, he was appointed Generalissimo of 
the Italian armies, which post he was holding at the 
conclusion of the great conflict. 

General Diaz married Signora Sarah De Rosa Mira- 
belli, granddaughter of Count Guiseppe Mirabelli, First 
President of the Supreme Court of Naples. He has 
three children : Marcelio, now fifteen years of age (in 
1918) ; Anna, aged twelve, and Irene, aged ten. 

The Italians, under this able soldier, fought for their 
natural rights. Nearly five million soldiers, perfectly 
armed and equipped for the most difficult of campaigns, 
cooperated with the English, French, and Americans to 
hurl back the Prussians and Austro-Hungarians. 
Wherever their soldiers advanced they constructed 
superb roads, aqueducts, and hospitals, which aroused 
even the admiration of the enemy. When, in the early 
stages of the war, the Italian fleet saved the Serbian 
army, which Austria had driven out of their own coun- 
try; together with the civil population which followed 



ARMANDO DIAZ 193 

it, the Italian troops did not hesitate to succor these 
helpless people. They were literally walking skeletons, 
dying of hunger, ill with various diseases. The Italians 
treated them generously ; washed them, fed them, 
clothed them. These prisoners were so grateful to their 
deliverers that, as a tribute to Italy, they constructed a 
stone monument to Dante. 

The great victory won by General Diaz and his men, 
sustained by a united people, who have borne the 
financial burdens of the war without a complaint, should 
secure for Italy its lost provinces in the north. Italy 
requires the completion of the work of her King Victor 
Emmanuel, or a union of all the component parts of the 
nation. 

Italy should, furthermore, obtain commercial outlets 
in the Adriatic sea which have heretofore been held by 
the Austrians. Greece is in no way threatened by 
Italy, and she can peacefully enjoy the possession of that 
which she acquired in the second Balkan war, provided 
that she respects the independence of Albania and the 
essential strategic interests of the Italians in the Adri- 
atic. 

Thus — at the close of her successful campaign — 
the world looks on at a united Italian people, chastened 
by war, yet secure in their possessions of land, and of 
a population which should have belonged to them for 
many years. 

So, we can all say, — 

Well done, O descendant of the great Julius Ca?sar! 
And may your deeds and heroism in this noble battle for 
the right, ever be heralded by future historians, who 



194 FAMOUS GENERALS 

must give credit to you for leading a vast army of five 
million souls to well-earned victory and not to ignomini- 
ous defeat! 



AH SIN 

There are wails and tears in Mott street, the Mandarins 

are sad, 
They wander droopily around, and murmur : " Bad — 

^vellybad"; 
The very dogs in Mott street wag their tails between 

their legs, 
They moan and groan in Mott street, of sadness drink 

the dregs. 

For, where is almond-eyed AH SIN, — the pride of Old 

Fu San ? 
He's no more seen in Chinatown, — he's a much-missed, 

mourned-for man, 
No more his beady eyes snap fire, no more his laughter 

peals, 
No, — not again do China maids spin with him in wild 

reels. 

But — hear ! One day a soldier bold came stamping 

through the street, 
To every one he gave a nod and smilingly did greet, 
" Your Uncle Sam is fighting, across the sea," he said, 
" And we need one hundred Coolies, to help pile up 

the dead." 

" We need some Chinks to washee-wash, some more to 
scrubee-scrub, 

195 



196 FAMOUS GENEKALS 

We have to have some Chop-suey, and other kinds of 

grub, 
We must have your assistance, in France's bloody plight, 
So — step up, Lads, and help Sam out, — sign on, this 

very night." 

Now, AH SIN heard him talking, and AH SIN dropped 

his pipe, 
And little, slender young AH SIN, for hostilities was 

ripe, 
So, he put a cross down on a slip, and guaranteed to 

sail 
The following day for distant France, to help the Kaiser 

flail. 

No good-byes then were taken — he slipped away un- 
seen, 

His father still sold china-ware, when AH SIN, lithe 
and lean, 

Leaped from the second-story front, and ran down to 
the sea, 

Where a great, big towering Liner lay there quietly. 

The voyage soon was over, he found himself in France, 
Where a million soldiers jostled him, and a thousand 

steeds did prance, 
He was told to follow on behind the 27th Division, 
But when he carted his pots and pans, he was laughed at, 

in derision. 

" Oh — look at Johnny Chinaman, how Fritz will 
run ! " was called, 



AH SIN 197 

" You pig-tailed, wig-tailed monkey, you Chinky- 

Chink," was bawled, 
" Now all the rats will have to skip, that Chinatown's 

right here ! 
Hurroo for Bats, Oh, Tom Cats, Scat ! " was cried 

from far and near. 

But little, almond-eyed AH SIX walked on and smiled 

around, 
He looked above at Heaven, and he gazed down at the 

ground, 
With quite Celestial quiet, he manfully went trudging, 
While soldiers laughed and jeered at him, and kept each 
other nudging. 

But, now the Boys were at the Front, they huddled in 

a trench, 
There were dead and dying all around — of GAS, an 

awful stench, 
The shells kept screeching o'er their heads, the bullets 

z-i-n-g-e-d and shied, 
And from the mud, occasionally, a horse or mule was 

pried. 

And little AH SIN, in the rear, just cooked and toted 

food, 
'Twas filled with cinders, dirt, and soot, but it tasted 

awful good, 
The men grew tired and restless, but at length the order 

came, 



198 FAMOUS GENERALS 

To " UP AND AT 'EM, OVER THE TOP," it fired 
their blood aflame. 

At last they'd really battle, — and each man cinched his 

belt, 
And, when they jumped up o'er the trench, they raced 

on, helter-pelt, 
The machine-gun fire did thin the lines, the whistling 

lead did scream, 
They now were struggling desperately, — they fought as 

in a dream. 

A part, soon hemmed in all around, had gathered in a 

vale, 
They faced the Germans, everywhere — they cried: 

" We'll never quail, 
We'll fight as in the Alamo; we'll die like Crockett's 

men, 
Remember we're from Old New York, which we want 

to see again ! " 

Two days they faced the Hunnish horde, two days, — 

their water failed, 
Two days they battled manfully, and not a doughboy 

quailed, 
" We'll die here fighting to the last, we'll never live 

to say 
That Germans ever captured us — Boys from the 

U. S. A." 

But, see ! One day a figure lean came creeping towards 
the group. 



AH SIN 199 

" Let me in — oh, velly tired. I'm AH SIN, I've got 

soup; 
It tastes velly good, Cap ! Here's food ! Some chicken 

stew, 
Let me lie still. Me velly ill ! Me come through with 

this brew ! " 

Hurray for the Chink ! — Too famished to drink, they 

merely gulped it down, 
Then, turning on the Boche, they fired. HURRAY! 

They mowed them down, 
HUZZAH! The Marines were coming up. HUZ- 

ZAH ! They've flanked the line, 
" Now, all out, Boys ! And three times three ! The 

battle's going fine ! " 

The flag advanced, — t'was torn with shell, — the crater 

was surrounded, 
Back to their lines the Hindenburgs were piked, and 

pushed, and hounded, 
And, after the joy of being saved had spent itself in 

part, 
They looked around. — Ah! Poor AH SIN lay 

wounded to the heart. 

A shell exploded near the trench, the dirt and dust fell 

there. 
And weak AH SIN was buried, — his eyes in vacant 

stare. 
The Captain took his hand in his. — Too late ! He'd 

gone aloft, 



200 FAMOUS GENERALS 

Too late — too late — at poor AH SIN no longer 
soldiers scoffed. 

There's a little mound in sunny France, there's a single 

slab of pine, 
There's a tiny grave at Bourlon Wood, near the Crater 

of a Mine, 
And, should you go there, Stranger, when now hushed is 

battle's din, 
Eemove your hat and breathe a prayer for poor, little 

true AH SIN. 



SIR EDMUND ALLENBY, K.C.B. 

THE CONQUEROR OF JERUSALEM 



SIR EDMUND ALLENBY, K.C.B. 

THE CONQUEKOR OF JERUSALEM 

FEW of us realize that, as the British and French 
were struggling in France, the Russians in Rus- 
sia, and the Serbians in Serbia, another British 
army was smashing its way to Jerusalem, the Holy 
City — held by the Turks. The place which watched 
over the shrine of Christ fell before the legions of Sir 
Edmund Allenby, and thus became a part of the Brit- 
ish Empire. The Turks were driven northward and 
eventually to their own country. 

The broad-shouldered English General who handled 
the British troops had taken over his command of the 
Egyptian Expedition, or Expeditionary Force, from Sir 
Archibald Murray in June. He had seen hard fighting 
in Flanders, having been in all the actions there, and he 
had distinguished himself in the retreat from Mons. 
He was a K.C.B. (or a Knight Commander of the 
Bath) and was educated at Harleybury. He had en- 
tered the Enniskillen Dragoons, and had served with 
them in the Bechuanaland Expedition in 1884-1885. 
He had fought the Zulus in Zululand in 1889, and had 
been appointed Adjutant of the Enniskilleners in 1889. 
He was what is familiarily known as a " scrapper." 

When Oom Paul Kruger had defied the Uitlanders 

and had started war against England in far distant 

203 



204 FAMOUS GENEEALS 

South Africa this danger-lover was there in a very ac- 
tive capacity, for he was placed in command of the 
Fourth Cavalry Brigade. These were with French in 
his attack on Bloemfontein, were in the advance on 
Pretoria, the capture of Cronje, and the subsequent guer- 
illa warfare on the veldt. Promoted for meritorious 
and gallant service to the supreme direction of the 
Fourth Cavalry Brigade, he was ordered to take full 
charge of the cavalry sent to Flanders by the British 
in 1914. From this post he was dispatched to bandy 
cudgels with the marauding Turk in Southern Pales- 
tine. 

Sir Edmund surveyed the English forces there, and 
said : " It is well ! Thou, Turk, shalt feel the might 
of my strong right arm ! Selah ! " 

Then, Sir Edmund surveyed the line held by the 
Turks in front of him. Here is what he saw: 

The enemy positions lay from Beersheba to the sea 
of Gaza, along the main road which links the two towns : 
a front of some thirty miles. Gaza, and its neighbor- 
ing villages, had been converted into a strong fortress, 
and the rest of this line was protected by a series of 
groups of fortified redoubts. These were about a mile 
apart save between Beersheba and Hereira, where the 
fortifications were four and a half miles from each 
other. The lateral communications were good and any 
threatened point on the line could be quickly reinforced. 
In March Sir Archibald Murray had moved against 
the Turkish army, but the force which faced him was 
far less formidable than the well-organized and equipped 
fighters which faced the English now. 




SIR EDMUND ALLENBY 



SIR EDMUND ALLENBY 205 

After some consultation with his officers, the British 
leader decided to strike a blow against the Turkish right, 
or eastern flank, near the towns of Hereira and Sheria. 
Here the works of the enemy were less formidable than 
elsewhere, and were easier of approach. The capture of 
Beersheba was a necessary preliminary to all operations, 
in order to secure the proper water supplies and to give 
room for the development of greater maneuvers, and the 
deployment of an attacking force on the high ground to 
the north and northwest of Beersheba. The General 
says in his report : " With Beersheba in our hands, we 
would have an open flank attack against which to op- 
erate, and I could make full use of my superiority of 
mounted troops, and a success here offered prospects 
of pursuing our advantage and of forcing the enemy 
to abandon the rest of his fortified position, which no 
other line of attack could afford." 

The enemy's force on the Palestine had been greatly 
increased from the period of July to October. It was 
evident that the Turks would make every effort to 
maintain their position on the Gaza-Beersheba line. 
They had strengthened their defenses on this front and 
had thrown up defensive works around Beersheba. Oc- 
tober 1st was set as the date of attack on the latter place, 
when a large flanking force was to s.trike the town from 
the east and northeast. 

But the Turks were not to be caught napping. On 
the morning of October 27th they made a strong recon- 
naissance toward Karm, from the direction of Kanwu- 
kab, with two regiments of cavalry and two or three 
thousand infantrymen. One small British post was 



206 FAMOUS GENERALS 

rushed and the men were cut up, but not before heavy 
losses had been inflicted upon the enemy. Another post 
— although surrounded — held out all day, and also 
caused the enemy heavy losses. Here the Yeomanry 
fought, and made such a strong defense that the 53rd 
(Welsh) Division came up to aid them. As the Turks 
saw them advancing, they withdrew. 

Several war-ships of the British navy, assisted by a 
French battleship, now approached the coast near Gaza, 
and bombarded the town from the sea. On the evening 
of October 30th, the portion of the eastern force, which 
was to make the attack upon Beersheba, was concen- 
trated in a position of readiness for a night march to a 
position of deployment. This march was successfully 
carried out, and all of the separate units reached their 
appointed positions on time. 

General Allenby's plan was a good one. It was to 
attack the hostile works between Khalsa Road and the 
Wado Saba, with the Imperial cavalry corps and some 
infantry, while a portion of the 53rd (Welsh) Division, 
farther north, covered the left of the corps. The right 
of the attack was to be made by a cavalry regiment, 
while, farther east, mounted troops took up a line op- 
posite the southern defense of Beersheba. 

At 8 :45 a. m. — after a preliminary bombardment by 
London troops, with a small loss — an attack was 
launched. The enemy's barbed-wire was cut, and at 
12 :15 p. m. a final assault was ordered. With a wild 
cheer the men rushed forward, leaped into the enemy's 
works, and by 1 p. m. all of the intrenchments had been 
captured. The casualties were very light. 



SIR EDMUND ALLENBY 207 

The mounted troops, meanwhile, had been marching 
northward — through the night — arriving early in the 
morning of the 31st, about Khasim Zanna, in the hills 
some five miles east of Beersheba. In the evening a 
mounted attack by Australian light horse proved a 
complete success. They galloped over two deep trenches 
held by the enemy, just outside of the town, and entered 
Beersheba at about 7 p. m., capturing numerous prison- 
ers. 

Thus a very strong position was taken with but slight 
loss, and the Turkish detachment at Beersheba was al- 
most completely put out of action. Thirteen guns and 
about two thousand prisoners were captured, while some 
five hundred corpses were buried on the battlefield. 
Such a marked success laid open the left flank of the 
Turkish army to a decisive blow. 

Pushing forward, the British troops took Gaza, where 
four hundred and fifty prisoners were seized, and many 
Turks were killed. The British losses were consider- 
able, and, although the Turks made a vigorous counter- 
attack, they were again driven back into the rough and 
hilly country north of Beersheba, where they were fol- 
lowed, attacked, and driven northward. Gaza, mean- 
while, was evacuated by the Turks, and, fighting a 
strong rear-guard action, the Turkish army retreated 
towards Hebron. 

It was rumored in Jerusalem, on November 9th, that 
the British were at Huj, behind the center of the Gaza- 
Beersheba line, and that Tel-el-Sheria and his men were 
even now preparing to evacuate the Holy City. 
Wounded and straggling Turks began to stream into the 



208 FAMOUS GENERALS 

town and Turkish officers, in utter rout, brought news 
of the English victory. 

Immediately the Turkish officials began to leave the 
city with their families. Munitions and essential stores 
were sent north to Shechem, or east to Jerico, while 
a great wall of dust bore witness to the retreat of carts, 
pack animals and motor lorries. 

General F'alkenhayn — the German ally — came 
from the city of Aleppo to reorganize the beaten army, 
but he left for Shechem on November 16th, so the con- 
trol of the troops reverted into Turkish hands. Ali 
Fuad Pasha, commander of the Turkish forces in Jeru- 
salem, issued two proclamations to the people of the city. 

First, he warned all of the civilians that street fight- 
ing was to be expected, and that, when it began, they 
were to keep indoors, and were to assist the troops in 
the impending house-to-house conflict, under pain of 
severe punishment. The second proclamation stated 
that the Turks had held Jerusalem for one thousand 
three hundred years (or for nine centuries longer than 
they had really held it) and they could not now abandon 
it. The townspeople were ordered to have complete 
confidence in the good behavior of the troops detailed 
to defend the city to the last ditch. 

Meanwhile, the British were coming ever nearer and 
were soon reported to be within sight of the city. A 
sudden panic seemed to fall upon the Turks west and 
southwest of the town, and soon the citizens saw numer- 
ous transport columns in full retreat. This gave great 
pleasure to the Jews, who were at last seeing the terri- 
ble Turks in retreat, after four centuries of conflict. 



SIR EDMUND ALLENBY 209 

" The Turks are running away ! " many called out. 
" The day of deliverance has come ! " 

Early in the day — in fact, at two o'clock in the 
morning ■ — tired Turks began to troop through the Jaffa 
Gate from the west and the southwest. From two 
o'clock to seven o'clock the Turkish army streamed 
through the city, while some disgruntled officers mur- 
mured, " Gitmaya mej'boomz " (" We've got to go "). 
The Governor was the last to depart, leaving behind 
him a letter of surrender, which the Mayor carried to 
the British commander, accompanied by a couple of 
policemen, holding two white flags. 

The Turkish army finally melted into the dust clouds 
in the shadowy depth of the valley of Jehosaphet, and 
soon the British army approached the Jaffa Gate, with 
Sir Edmund Allenby leading it, on foot. A great 
crowd gathered to meet the oncoming conquerors, and, as 
they came into the town, set up a cheer of triumph. 
Many embraced each other, several wept for joy, and 
others bowed reverently as the dust-stained legions 
tramped by. 

The long, dark night of Turkish misrule had passed 
away forever. After four hundred years of govern- 
ment by the Turks, the Holy City had come into the 
hands of those who will give equal rights to Moslem, 
Jew, or Christian. Known to the Jews as a city of 
mourning, let us hope that, being now delivered from 
the black night of oppression, she may turn her mourn- 
ing into joy. 

When the British entered, they showed characteristic 
tact. A proclamation was read from the parapet of the 



210 FAMOUS GENERALS 

citadel below the tower of David. It was in English, 
French, and Arabic, and announced that order would 
be maintained in all the hallowed sites of the three great 
religions, and that no impediment would be put in the 
way of all worshipers therein. When this ceremony 
had been completed, General Allenby went to the small 
square behind the citadel, where he was presented to 
the chief notables and ecclesiastics of the different com- 
munities who had remained. After this brief introduc- 
tion, he left the City of David by the Jaffa Gate. 

As he swung past them, the Turks saw a fine speci- 
men of English manhood — as fine a specimen as ath- 
letics and outdoor-life in that foggy Isle could create. 
Here was a man who had withstood every shock of the 
campaign with a smiling face: a man hardened to the 
life of a soldier by polo and horse-back riding. Here 
was an old steeple-chase rider of note, and a man who 
had once owned his own stable of steeple-chasers : ani- 
mals which had made a good account of themselves in 
many a hotly contested race in the far-away country. 

An old sheik turned to one of the awe-struck native 
carriers, saying: 

" Truly the Prophet must have stood beside yonder 
soldier's cradle." 

" It is the truth, Sahib/' answered the carrier. " He 
has been blessed by Mahomet." 

A veiled lady gazed at him above her white covering, 
which hid her face to the eyes, and whispered : 

"It is well that we have such men here, instead of 
the terrible Turk." 

And as the cavalcade of soldiers retired to their tents, 



SIR EDMUND ALLENBY 211 

outside the city walls, all of these crusaders felt heart- 
ily glad that the great and historic city had finally come 
into Christian hands, for those who worshiped Christ 
could from henceforth feel secure in the knowledge 
that the shrine of the Great Teacher as under the pro- 
tection of those who believed in his teachings. 

No conqueror ever entered a city with more prestige, 
as for centuries there had been current an Arab proph- 
ecy that a deliverer from the West would come. The 
people had been told that he would come on foot and 
would bear the name of the Prophet of God. It had 
also been rumored that he would not appear until the 
Nile flowed into Palestine. To the peasant mind the 
prophecy now seemed to be fulfilled, for General Allen- 
by's name was, in Arabic, the " Prophet,'' and his men 
had come to that land bearing the waters of Egypt with 
them. 

The famous city in the thirty-three centuries of her 
history had witnessed some twenty sieges and an equal 
number of blockades and occupations. She had been 
the Holy City alike to Jew, Christian, and Moslem, and 
dreamers of every age rebuilt her " bulwarks, in the 
heaven of their imagining." She had been the goal 
of many an expedition and the prize of many a war. 
Conquerors from the Tiber, the Bosphorous, the Khone, 
and the Thames had struggled to gain possession of her 
walls. 

So fierce had been the struggles for the mastery of 
her sacred portals, that, in the Book of Lamentations, 
composed five hundred years before the birth of Christ, 
it had been written : 



212 FAMOUS GENERALS 

" Behold and say if there be any sorrow like unto my 
sorrow." 

The British operations had taken place between Octo- 
ber 31st and December 9th, and over twelve thousand 
prisoners had been taken. Many machine guns were 
captured, twenty million rounds of rifle ammunition, 
and two hundred and fifty thousand rounds of gun am- 
munition. More than twenty airplanes were destroyed 
by the English airmen, or burned in order to avoid cap- 
ture. Fatigue, thirst, heat, and cold had been uncom- 
plainingly endured by the British army, and the co- 
operation of all arms enabled the success in battle to be 
followed by an irresistible and victorious pursuit of the 
fleeing Turkish forces. 

Three weeks after they had left it, the Turks rallied 
and tried desperately to regain the Holy City. But 
when they endeavored to recover by force that which 
they had lost they found the British lion was too strong 
for them. They were again beaten and sent flying to 
the northward, humbled and crippled by the Allenby 
machine. 

So a great shout went up from all the free peoples of 
the world, for Jerusalem — the Holy City — at last had 
been saved from Turkish misrule and oppression. 



YOUE TOTCLE SAM 

Your Uncle Sam's a long, lean man, 

Built on the aeronautic plan, 

He's kinder keerless, kinder 'fraid, 

That some one'll say, " He's slow an' staid," 

Yet, when th' old boy gits eroused, 

He's 'tarnal cussed — hair's all frowsed 

An' tangled — he jes' chews an' swears, 

An' growls an' yowls like twenty bears. 

He sat one day a-cleaning his gun, 
When some young feller came on the run, 
An' shouted to him : " See here, Old Man, 
Them gol dinged Dutchmen have th' plan, 
Ter take fer theirs th' whole durned world, 
An' drink their beer, their flag unfurled 
Above your little cabin door ! " 
At that old Sam got mighty sore ! 

Old Sam he blinked : " By Gum," says he, 

" I see they've sunk th' Lusitanee. 

By gum," says he, " we'll hev tew know, 

Who in Thunder's goin' ter run this show ! " 

Old Sam jumps up. Old Sam he cries: 

" We'll give them Germans a little surprise ! " 

Wall ! Your Uncle Sam he kept his word, 
The men they went at the Fritzie herd. 
213 



214 FAMOUS GENERALS 

Your Uncle Sam he was on to th' job, 

An' he put such a punch in th' German mob, 

That soon they made the Kaiser say : 

" Let's quit ! I don't like the way you play ! " 

So, boys, keep your eyes on your Uncle Sam, 
His nose is lean and he butts like a ram. 
The grand Ole Cuss is just keen on er scrap, 
An' f er gas an' bullets don't keer er rap ; 
So, Lads, let th' Ole Man hoe his tater, 
Don't plague him or bother his better nater, 
Or th' Bear Cat'll take down his rifle agin, 
An' then — Look out fer yer Coupling PinJ 



SIR STANLEY MAUDE 

ANOTHER KITCHENER 



SIR STANLEY MAUDE 
ANOTHEK KITCHEKEK 

WHILE the British army was wrestling with the 
Germans in Belgium, another British army, 
three hundred thousand strong, was advanc- 
ing through a desert country in Mesopotamia, to the cap- 
ture of Kut-el-Amara, held by the Turks. The Ger- 
mans were allied with these people, and, among other 
dreams of the Kaiser, was one of the conquest of that 
territory lying towards India, so that a German railroad 
could run from Berlin to Bagdad. He had often said : 
" We Germans must expand to the East, to the West, 
and towards India." 

The British army was led by General Maude : a man 
similar to Kitchener of Khartoum in many particulars, 
and with a task quite similar to that which confronted 
Kitchener on the way to Khartoum, in Egypt. Here 
General Gordon had been killed by the followers of the 
Mahdi — an Egyptian ruler — and, in order to take this 
country away from him and to punish him for his mas- 
sacre of British troops, Kitchener had advanced to 
Omdurman and Khartoum. He had successfully Cap- 
tured both places, had defeated the Mahdi, and had made 
a British protectorate of the country. 

General Maude was born in 1864, the son of General 
Sir Francis Maude, G.C.B., V.C. ; he was educated at 

217 



218 FAMOUS GENERALS 

Eton and Sandhurst, entering the British army in 1884. 
Married in 1893 to Miss Cecil Cornelia Marianne St. 
Leger, he is the proud parent of one son and two daugh- 
ters. His rise to a commanding position has been grad- 
ual, for in 1896 he was a Captain, in 1899 a Major, in 
1907 a Lieutenant-Colonel, a Colonel in 1911, and 
a Major-General and Divisional Commander in 1915. 
He was appointed Lieutenant-General in command of 
the Tigris Army Corps in July, 1916, and Commander- 
in-Chief in Mesopotamia in August, 1916. 

Prior to this campaign, the noted leader had been in 
many an engagement. He served in the Soudan against 
the black troops of that country in 1885, and was 
awarded the medal with clasp and Khedive's star. He 
was in the advance upon Kimberly in the South African 
war from 1899 to 1901; was in the actions at Poplar 
Grove, Dreifontein, Karire Siding, Vet River and cross- 
ings of the Zand; also in the many operations of the 
British army in Cape Colony and the Orange Free State. 
He had smelled freely of the powder of battle, prior to 
the advance to Kut-el-Amara. 

This British hero of the Great War is also like Kitch- 
ener in that he has the ability to bide his own time, to 
keep his own counsel, and yet to drive men unmerci- 
fully — inspiring them, at the same instant, with his 
indomitable spirit. The Tommies simply adored him. 
" When he passes," says a war correspondent, who was 
with the army at Kut-el-Amara, " every Tommy stands 
so stiff and salutes so earnestly that he quivers all over. 
They do that, I suppose, because they feel deeply about 
it, and that is the only way that they can show him 




SIR STANLEY MAUDE 



SIR STANLEY MAUDE 219 

how they feel." The soldiers, in fact, worshiped him, 
just as they did Kitchener, and they have woven legends 
about him just as they did around Lord Kitchener. 

General Maude is a hard worker and he drives his 
Staff terribly — if an officer makes a mistake he knows 
it, I can assure you. Every one is afraid of him, and 
has — at the same time — implicit confidence in him. 
A silent man, with a wonderful face, he is strong and 
clean cut. He notices every detail and is quick to 
criticise if anything is wrong. 

" One day, in Bagdad," writes a correspondent, " he 
came into the Y. M. C. A. to see what we were doing, 
and, as I happened to be there alone, he asked me to 
take him around. He wanted to see everything — the 
servant's quarters, the kitchens, the ice-cream freezers, 
the sleeping couches, — everything. He went over them 
all himself. He did not say much — except to ask 
questions. And he didn't offer any compliments — 
that's his way. If anything is all right — well and 
good. You have done your duty. That is enough. 
But, if it is not done right he tells you so, and he tells it 
to you in a way that you will not soon forget." 

In the advance into Mesopotamia the British had 
to contend with an alien climate in which white troops 
could work only during the cool months of the year. 
General Maude reached Basra, which was the British 
base in Mesopotamia, in August, 1916. From then 
until December 13th, he devoted himself entirely to the 
organization of the campaign in hand. Nearly all the 
army was put to work helping the coolies and the trans- 
port troops, in building roads, and in carrying up sup- 



220 FAMOUS GENERALS 

plies. Including coolies, transport, commissariat, base 
troops, boatmen, and other units behind the lines, the 
Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force must have num- 
bered three hundred thousand men, or four complete 
divisions and part of three others. 

In these divisions, numbering some twenty thousand 
men each, the proportion of Indian troops to white was 
about two to one. The Indians and whites were inter- 
mingled in every division but the Thirteenth, which 
was direct from England, and it included a Lancashire 
Brigade and Battalions of the Hants, Wilts, and Welsh 
Fusileers, South Wales Borderers, North Stafford- 
shires, Warwicks, and Worcesters. The Indian troops 
were Sikhs, Punjabis, and Ghurkas. 

There was a division of cavalry also made up mainly 
of Indian troops, with only two white regiments : the 
Thirteenth and Fourteenth Hussars. The Indian Lanc- 
ers were gaudily attired and made a great spectacle as 
they rode over the desert with their lances held high, 
and their lance pennons fluttering over their heads. 
There was plenty of artillery also ; none of the guns 
larger than the four-inch piece, because of the deep sand 
and difficulty of transporting heavier ammunition across 
it. The British had poison gas, but so had their op- 
ponents — the Turks — and, by a gentlemen's agree- 
ment, neither side used it against the other. The Turks 
were well supplied with air-ships — the British had only 
B E 12's and a couple of Bristol Scouts, which they 
never fought in, unless they absolutely had to. 

By the morning of December 13th all seemed to be 
ready. 



SIR STANLEY MAUDE 221 

" We will attack/' said General Maude, softly, " and 
we will strafe those Turks to the Mediterranean. Are 
you ready, boys ? " 

And all the Staff said, " We are." 

At first a feint attack was made upon the position 
held by the Turks at Sunniyat, a strong set of earth- 
works behind a river, which barred the direct advance 
upon Bagdad. It was so strong that it seemed impos- 
sible to take it by frontal attacks. The British held 
what was called the Sinn-Piyarhah position out on the 
desert on the right bank of the Tigris — across the river 
— from the Sunniyat position, to a point midway be- 
tween the Sunniyat position and the Shatt-el-Hai, a trib- 
utary of the Tigris. 

As the guns roared at the Turks intrenched on the 
Sunniyat line, the English Commander had a bridge 
thrown across the Shatt-el-Hai River, and advanced his 
troops from the Sinn-Dujarhah position almost to the 
banks of the Tigris, above Kut. The fighting was 
fierce, and, by January 19th, the British had cleared 
the Turks from the ground between the Shatt-el-Hai and 
the right bank of the Tigris. 

The Turks fought gamely, and, above Kut, still held 
the right bank of the Dihra Bend, a rather deep stream. 
On February 10th the British attacked here, captured 
the licorice factory which General Townshend had held 
throughout the siege of Kut, in the year previous, and 
drove the Turks away. Meanwhile on the 17th of 
February, and up to the 22nd, there was a general at- 
tack upon the Sunniyat position in order to divert the 
Turks' attention from what was reallv o-om^ to occur. 



222 FAMOUS GENERALS 

On February 15th, the Dihra Bend was taken from 
the Turks, who were sent reeling to the left bank of the 
stream, and on the night of the 22nd a fierce attack was 
launched across the river at Kut, and at a position just 
above and below Kut. Three parties of the Norfolks, 
meanwhile, were sent to force what was known as the 
Shumran Bend, in pontoons. Two companies got 
safely over and intrenched, under cover of the spitting 
fire from machine-guns. A bridge was built over the 
river in the extraordinary time of nine hours, for the 
river is here three hundred yards wide and the current 
flows nine miles an hour. It was a daring deed. 

While this was transpiring, the British attacked the 
Sunniyat position and took the first two lines of 
trenches which were counter-attacked six times by the 
desperate Turk. Next morning some one came into 
their lines, crying: 

" The British are in your rear and have crossed the 
Tigris." 

Selah! 

Turning tail, the Turks ran away so fast that few 
were captured, and, advancing rapidly, the British took 
two-thirds of their artillery. Kut had been taken. 

The Turks retreated to the Diala River, and here they 
again intrenched. On March 7th the British tried to 
throw a bridge across, near the mouth of the stream, but, 
although many volunteers endeavored to get the pon- 
toons into position, every man was killed by the accurate 
marksmen hidden behind earthworks upon the opposite 
side of the river. It was a desperate fight. 

The Turks were excellent fighting men, for they had 



SIR STANLEY MAUDE 223 

been well trained by numerous German officers, drilled 
in the hard school of the German military machine. 
Contrary to expectation, they stood the British fire with- 
out wincing, and took more punishment than the Eng- 
lish had expected them to do. They seemed to be still 
game — in spite of defeat — and pluekily held their 
ground against the advancing British and Indian troops, 
who, with the lust of victory in their eyes now were 
bent upon carrying all before them. 

On the evening of March 8th sixty men of the North 
Lancashires under cover of a barrage fire so intense 
that it raised clouds of sand which obscured the even- 
ing's sun, forded the Diala and intrenched in a nullah, 
or gully. With a loss of twenty men they held on until 
midnight of the ninth, when they were relieved by troops 
which had crossed farther up the stream. 

When their ammunition had become exhausted, more 
was sent to them by a cable which was shot across the 
river by a rocket. This was cut by the Turks with 
machine-gun fire and thus the ammunition had to be 
thrown across by hand. The men hung on with grim 
and silent determination. 

A bridge was now built over the Diala still higher 
up, and this was soon crowded with troops pushing 
over to the rescue of the men in the nullah. Flanking 
the Turks on this side, they marched onward to the 
suburbs of the city in the early morning of March 11th, 
captured the railway station and finally entered the town 
of Bagdad. The Seventh Division claimed that it was 
the first to march into this place, but the battalions of 
the Thirteenth Division always asserted that they en- 



224 FAMOUS GENERALS 

tered at the same time from the south. Over eight thou- 
sand Turkish prisoners were taken, the British losing 
perhaps thirty thousand men in the entire campaign. 

A member of the Y. M. C. A. who was there at the 
British entry tells us that: 

" The Kurds came in and looted and massacred be- 
fore the British arrived. All the houses were stripped 
of their doors by the looters, and most houses were with- 
out doors when I arrived in the city in order to open 
the Y. M. C. A. station there. You know that the 
British kept on after they reached Bagdad, and by May 
the first were fighting about one hundred miles north 
of the city, thirty-two miles above Samaras, where the 
first break in the railroad begins. The Turks left six 
locomotives here, after carefully blowing off the cylin- 
ders from four, all on one side. The British promptly 
took the engines, removed the cylinders from four, and 
patched up two, so they had the railroad operating again 
in a few days. 

" Except for its size Bagdad was like every other 
city in Mesopotamia ; mud-built, dirty, and unsanitary. 
' Blow me, I thought that we was coram' somewhere/ 
I heard one Tommy say. 

" The Tommies got along very well with the Turks 
and had quite an admiration for them. They called 
their enemies Johnny Turk, which is their pet name 
for their Indian favorite, Johnny Ghurka. During the 
hot weather of 1916, when both armies faced each other 
in the Sunniyat position, by a gentlemen's agreement, 
like that in reference to gas, both sides stopped fighting. 
The only water was in the river, and an hour was fixed 



SIR STANLEY MAUDE 225 

for the British to go down and get theirs, and another 
hour for the Turks. I heard that, after the British 
had made an advance, a Turkish aeroplane new over 
the camp and dropped a note of congratulations. I 
don't know whether this was true, but the Tommies be- 
lieved it." 

In the surrounding country were plenty of Arabs, and 
these proved to be the worst enemy to both Turk and 
British. The Arabs plundered both sides indiscrimi- 
nately, and whenever a battle was fought the wild tribes- 
men joined with the winning side. They would go over 
the field — after the fighting was over — and would steal 
everything that was portable. So bad were they, that, 
at one time, a suggestion was made that the Turks and 
British call the war oif for a while and form a com- 
posite Anglo-Turk army to strafe the Arabs — or to beat 
them up. 

Arabs are the most inveterate thieves in the world, 
and, in order to plunder and steal, will risk everything 
— including their necks. The English say that they 
prefer to steal where it is difficult, rather than where it 
is easy. 

One of the soldiers who was with General Maude tells 
the following story : 

" Two Arabs entered the tent next to mine at Omara, 
and, while one of them held a knife over the Sergeant 
who occupied it, the other took everything which he 
could place his hands on. And they escaped, although 
that was in the middle of the camp." 

One night — when their sentry went to sleep — the 
Australian wireless detachment at Omara lost thirtv-one 



226 FAMOUS GENEBALS 

rifles through the depredations of the slick and sleek 
Arabs. 

These children of the desert were crafty in regard 
to feigning death, and frequently would fall down when 
shot at and would appear to be killed. When the un- 
suspecting sentry would march on, they would then 
creep into camp and steal everything that they could. 
So slick were they, that, at one time, they stole ten 
camels out of a camp which had block-houses every five 
hundred yards and sentries every two hundred and 
fifty yards. 

After the British troops entered Bagdad, order was 
soon restored and the British flag was hoisted over the 
city. In the afternoon, the English gun-boat flotilla 
proceeded up the stream, anchored opposite the British 
residency, and a considerable force was put on guard 
upon either bank of the river. Quiet now reigned, and 
peace seemed to have settled over the mud-walls of the 
captured citadel of Turkish power in Mesopotamia. 

There was little of great value in the town, for the 
Turks had been removing stores and articles of military 
value for a fortnight before the English came. In the 
arsenal were found all the guns (rendered useless by 
General Townshend) which fell into the enemy's hands 
in the capture of Kut-el-Amara, in April, 1916, when 
the Turks had been the victors. 

The Turks meanwhile, had intrenched in a strong 
position south of the Mushaidie railroad station, some 
twenty miles north of Bagdad, and eagerly watched 
the British army. On March 14 a force under Gen- 
eral Coble carried this, after a brilliant charge by the 



SIR STANLEY MAUDE 227 

Black Watch and Ghurkas. At the station itself the 
enemy made his last stand, but the Black Watch and 
Ghurkas rushed the station at midnight, and pursued 
the enemy for half a mile beyond. The Turks went off 
so rapidly that it was impossible for the British to keep 
up with the fast moving hordes, and, on March 16, the 
English aeroplanes reported stragglers over a depth of 
twenty miles. 

The Turks were now pretty thoroughly whipped, and 
a post was established on the right bank of the Diala, 
opposite Baqubah, thirty miles northeast of Bagdad. 
On the nineteenth of the month, British troops occu- 
pied Feluja, thirty-five miles west of Bagdad on the 
Euphrates, driving out the Turkish garrison. The oc- 
cupation of Feluja, with Nasariyeh already in British 
possession, gave the English control over the middle Eu- 
phrates from both ends of the river. During the rest 
of the month minor operations were undertaken on the 
Diala, pending the arrival of Russian forces advancing 
from Persia. Mesopotamia was hopelessly lost to both 
Turk and Kaiser, and a great cheer of victory went up 
from the anxious multitudes in far away Great Britain, 
for they knew that the danger from Kaiserism had been 
removed from this particular area of the world. 

In announcing the success of this expedition in the 
House of Commons, the day following the receipt of the 
news, Mr. Bonar Law said : 

" General Maude in these operations, has completed 
his victory by a pursuit of one hundred and ten miles 
in fifteen days, during which the Tigris was crossed 
three times. This pursuit was conducted through a 



228 FAMOUS GENERALS 

country destitute of supplies, despite the commencement 
of the summer heat. Such operations could be carried 
out in such a country only after the most careful ar- 
rangements made for the supplies of the troops. The 
fact that General Maude not only has been able to as- 
sure proper attention to the sick and wounded, but has 
been able to report that he is satisfied that he can pro- 
vide for the necessities of his army in Bagdad, reflects 
the greatest credit upon all concerned." 



WE'RE HERE, LAFAYETTE! 

When Franklin went to gay Paree, so many years ago, 
He talked with all the potentates, and told them of the 

blow 
That the Yankee boys were stemming in the land across 

the sea, 
And, when they shrugged their shoulders, he urged 

them eagerly: 

" We need your good franc pieces, and we need your 

soldiers, too, 
We're fighting for our lives, Messieurs, 'neath the old 

red, white and blue, 
We've had a row with General Gage, we've fought with 

Tarleton's men, 
And we're standing off old man Burgoyne, in a far-off 

northern glen." 

But the Frenchmen shrugged their shoulders, so many 

years ago, 
And they said : " We cannot help you, cher monsieur, 

unless you show, 
That you can trim these grenadiers : these soldiers of the 

King, 
And, if that's so, we'll give you all the help that we can 

bring." 

So, Franklin kept on waiting, while back at home they 
worked ; 

229 



230 FAMOUS GENERALS 

And Franklin kept on smiling, although the waiting 

irked, 
'Til a cruiser sailed into Boulogne, a cheer arose 

straightway, 
As they cried : " At Saratoga, your boys have won 

the day." 

So the Frenchmen gave him soldiers, and they gave him 

money, too, 
With Lafayette and Eochambeau, all dressed in buff 

and blue, 
And a mighty fleet went with them to the wide Virginia 

shore, 
Where they rounded up Cornwallis, 'neath the cannon's 

grumbling roar. 

Xow many years have passed away, 'tis France that's 

sorely pressed. 
The Germans have them on the run, and are driving 

them to Brest, 
A cry goes up to Uncle Sam — " We need your help, Old 

Man, 
We aided you when you were young, now give us all you 

can!" 

Hurray ! The Yanks have answered and they're rush- 
ing to her aid, 

Hurrah! The boys are coming, and the debt of hon- 
or's paid! 

Look there — the mighty Legions swarming, listen, 
can't you hear? 



WE'RE HERE, LAFAYETTE! 231 

A mighty shout arises — 'tis — " LAFAYETTE, 
WE'RE HEEE ! " 



" Oh, Lafayette, we're here, in time, we're coming thou- 
sands strong, 

Oh, Lafayette, we'll ne'er forget your aid when we 
were young, 

'Tis noblesse oblige, my boy, we are glad to help you 
win, 

We'll drive the Germans back for you, just let us once 
begin ! 

" We're here, Lafayette, and we'll repay one thousand 

fold, 
What you did, Lafayette, in the rustic days of old, 
We've come, Lafayette, and we raise a cheer for you, 
And dip the gallant colors of the old red, white and 

blue." 



FRAXCHET DESPEREY 
HERO OF THE BALKAN CAMPAIGN 



FRANCHET D'ESPEREY 
HERO OF THE BALKAN CAMPAIGN 

WEEN the Germans were trying to get to Paris 
they endeavored to push straight on, by cross- 
ing the river Meuse. This would have been 
all right, as far as they were concerned, had it not been 
that a doughty French General stood in their path. So 
doughty was the fellow, that, after meeting with his 
men, the following German reason was given for non- 
ability to reach the objective desired. 

" It was on August 23d that Von Hausen's Saxon 
army crossed the Meuse. If better plans had been laid, 
the crossing of the river could have taken place much 
more quickly. The delay was a contributory cause of 
the failure of the German army in the beginning of 
September, and the German forces, marching towards 
Paris, had to be grouped differently. Signed 

"Kirchausen." 

As a result of this inability to crush the French, 
General Von Hausen — one of the most famous Gen- 
erals of the German army — lost his command, and some 
few weeks later he was crossed off the list of that army. 
The Kaiser had to have men who " made good," or 
they were sent to the rear. 

235 



236 FAMOUS GENERALS 

While the German officer was being reprimanded and 
dishonored, the man who had opposed him — General 
Franchet D'Esperey — was given a well-deserved pro- 
motion. General Foch immediately intrusted him with 
the command of the entire Fifth Army, made up of the 
18th, the 3d, the 1st, and the 10th corps, and the 
cavalry corps. 

General Franchet D'Esperey was already well known 
in France, for he had carried the flag to success in Mo- 
rocco, and had there distinguished himself. Promoted 
to be General of Brigade March 23d, 1908, he had the 
good fortune to be sent to far distant Morocco four 
years later, where he succeeded General Moinier. [Near 
the end of 1913, after having accomplished several very 
arduous campaigns against rebellious tribesmen, which 
were productive of excellent results, he returned to the 
mother country where he later received three stars and 
the collar of a Commander of the Legion of Honor. 

In 1914 this well-known soldier was called to com- 
mand the First Army Corps at Lille, and when the 
German hordes swept down upon Paris there was Gen- 
eral D'Esperey in their path, there with the Poilus: 
determined, hard-fighting, desperate. At Charleroi, 
where both English and French were defeated, he was 
the only Allied General who won a victory. He was 
then in command of the First Army Corps — made up 
for the greater part of men from Lille and Flanders and 
these were men of heroic mold who said : " They shall 
not pass." 

" They shall not pass," they cried, and, as the gray- 
clad hordes surged to the bridges of the Meuse, there 



FRANCHET D'ESPEREY 237 

were the Poilus to riddle them with machine gun and 
rifle fire, xit no great distance from Kamur these gal- 
lant souls held the bridges all day, and, as the shadows 
of evening began to fall, they charged, singing their 
ancient battle cries which had led them to victory under 
Jeanne D'Arc. The issue of the battle, however had 
been already decided, and several allied corps, which 
were in a bad position, were forced backwards. 

The army dropped to the rear fighting grimly, while 
it was left for General D'Esperey, with the First Army 
Corps, to protect the right flank of the Franco-British 
Corps, and, with extraordinary dash, he achieved that 
formidable task. Attacking the Saxons — the hardest 
fighters of all Germany — he threw them into disorder 
and he drove back to the River Meuse an enemy division 
which had succeeded in crossing the river. It was a 
furious attack and it seemed to fairly hypnotize the 
Saxons, who stood as if afraid to interfere, and all dur- 
ing the night of the 22nd, and the whole day of the 
24th, they allowed the entire French army to pass by un- 
molested. 

On August 23d the Boche saw that it was impossible 
to advance against D'Esperey' s men, and hence the note 
from Kirchausen which admitted the valiancy of the 
leader of the First Army Corps. 

On the River Marne, when French and English stub- 
bornly battled with the Kaiser's vanguard, Franchet 
D'Esperey won new laurels. In command of the Fifth 
Army, he here held the line to the north of Provins, as 
far as Sezanue — between the commands of Generals 
French and Foch. Facing him were the left wing of 



238 FAMOUS GENERALS 

Von Kluck' s army and the right wing of Von Bulow's 
horde. 

The Germans were then supremely confident of ulti- 
mate victory, and they came on with a rush. It was 
early on the morning of September 6th that Joffre gave 
his famous order to attack, and, when the news reached 
General D'Esperey, that fighting man threw himself 
with extraordinary fury upon the left wing of Von 
Kluck's army, and the right wing of Von Bulow, in- 
cluding the Saxons, the Prussian Guard, and the vic- 
tors of the battles in Belgium. 

There is a small stream in Virginia which runs just 
below the place where the men of the North charged the 
famous Stonewall Brigade behind a railroad embank- 
ment during the battle of Second Bull Run. Standing 
there one day and conversing with a farmer, who had 
been in the battle, he informed me that the waters of 
this quiet brook had been red with blood during the 
furious fighting which there occurred. So at the River 
Marne the waters of the stream which flowed between the 
forces of General D'Esperey and Von Kluck were soon 
dyed a rich crimson with the blood of the contending 
armies. Prying a wedge between Von Bulow and Von 
Kluck, the hard-fighting Frenchmen took the village of 
Esternay at the point of the bayonet. Driving the Ger- 
mans before them, they threw everything into disorder 
which faced them, and on the 8th they entered Mont- 
mirail, over a mountain of German dead. 

Hurrah ! The Boche was trounced, and, on the morn- 
ing of the 9th, the aviators signaled that Von Kluck 
and Von Bulow were retreating. True enough, dis- 



FRANCHET D'ESPEREY 239 

tressed and somewhat disorganized by the furious on- 
slaught, the gray-backs thought that they had proceeded 
into France quite far enough. All were happy as they 
pressed hard upon the rear of these invaders, and they 
sang. 

On, on, pressed D'Esperey with his men, on towards 
Montmirail, Vauchamp, and Champaubert. 

Finally it became necessary to recall the victorious 
Frenchmen from their bloody onslaught and they were 
moved towards Chateau-Thierry where, aided by the 
English, they menaced Von Kluck's rear. Another 
corps of this Fifth Army, meanwhile, echeloned to- 
wards the south, taking in flank the second half of Von 
Bulow's Army, and helped Marshal Foch to perform 
deeds of great heroism in the center of this great bat- 
tle. 

The battle of the Marne was soon over. France — 
humanity — civilization — had been saved, and among 
the immortals who had stemmed the onslaught of the 
barbarians was Franchet D'Esperey — now with the 
same rank as Foch, Castleneau, Fayolle, and Joffre. 
His name was associated with all the mighty operations 
of the French in this great war — the Somme — the 
Champagne — the Aisne — and no one had higher 
praise from all than this doughty General. Finally, 
in the month of June, 1916, he was sent to the Balkans 
to take a new command, that of the armies of the Orient. 
Eight short weeks after he had landed at Salonika he 
again covered his name with glory, and the victor of the 
Meuse and of Montmirail became the victor of Vardar. 

Now — know you — that the Bulgar, against whom 



240 FAMOUS GENERALS 

our eminent General was pitted, is a curious soldier, for 
he takes to the rocks and precipices like a mountain goat. 
He is patriotic and will die for his country when he be- 
lieves himself to be in the right, but he also is prone to 
retreat and to give in when he sees that the odds are 
against him. Perched upon the mountain trails, these 
tribesmen saw a vast army come to drive them from their 
country. Here were British, Greeks, French, Italians, 
and Serbians. They looked down upon them with awe, 
yet they intrenched, smoked their pipes, and waited for 
the day of battle. 

" War," said Napoleon, " is, above all, the art of ex- 
ecution." 

Franchet D'Esperey, immediately after his arrival, 
began to prepare for the execution of a great drive 
which would annihilate the Bulgar army, drive the 
tribesmen to the rear in confusion, and settle the su- 
premacy of the Allies then and there. The Bulgars, 
meanwhile, thought themselves safe from attack, owing 
to the natural difficulties which lay in the path of the Al- 
lied forces. High up on the hills and ridges of the 
mountainous region between Dobro Polje to Hozicaks 
they used spade and shovel to throw up earthworks, and 
contented themselves with reenforcing their line. They 
sang their strange songs, and their voices came ringing 
down from the heights. They blew on their long bugles 
and danced their curious dances, where they spun 
around like a top. Yet, all the while, the French Com- 
mander-in-Chief was preparing by building roads, haul- 
ing up big guns, and making ammunition dumps which 
could be easily reached. 




FRANCHET D'ESPEREY 



FRANCHET D'ESPEREY 241 

It was August before these preparations had begun, 
for many circumstances prevented the Allied Com- 
mander from beginning these preparations any earlier. 
The summer heat lingers along the coast well into the 
Fall, and the Winter is quite severe. It was thus 
important that the campaign should be closed before 
the snow began to drift across the mountain tops. 

The sector, chosen for the attack, lacked communi- 
cations, except for goat-paths which were all right for 
goats, but impractical for artillery. A road was, there- 
fore, laid out by the Engineers — a road over which 
troops and ammunition might travel; it ran from Dojne 
to Pojar, and from Grevesta to Seiliam. To the French 
troops was assigned the task of piercing the Bulgarian 
line; they were told that they had to traverse the wild 
country before them, covered with low brush, dense 
forests and scrub, while deep ravines, chasms, and 
precipices were intervening. 

This did not seem to worry the Poilus in the least 
and they went to work, singing. If you have to die 
soon you might as well do so cheerfully, seemed to be 
their thought, and, as the work progressed and the 
road was constructed, guns were pushed up to the front. 
At an altitude of fully six thousand feet, heavy guns 
were hoisted into position; guns which could carry far 
into the Bulgarian line. And the Bulgars, meanwhile, 
still watched what was going on with apparent stolidity. 

General Franchet D'Esperey seemed to know how 
to deal with his men, for he had a ready word for all, 
and this quite won the hearts of his troopers. They 
worked quite willingly, and, when all seemed to be 



242 FAMOUS GENERALS 

ready for the assault, he had the affections of every 
one. The Bulgarian position had been carefully 
studied, and all knew where to attack, so as August 
wore to a close and the bright sun of September shone 
over the scene of animation, the General-in-Chief smiled, 
for he saw that he was soon to launch an offensive that 
would end in an ultimate triumph. 

As the soldiers of the signal detachments laid their 
telephone and telegraph lines in the chaos of rocks and 
trees, they had to scale the bowlders like goats. For 
the main part they were well hidden, but the Bulgars 
watched them without apparent interest, when they did 
appear in the open, and only occasionally shelled the 
Allied line. Finally, on September 14th all seemed 
to be ready, and the order was passed along the battle- 
column to open fire with the artillery. 
BOOM ! 

With a roar that reverberated among the giant crags 
and bowlders, the first signal gun spoke its missive of 
death, and it was followed by the belching growl from 
hundreds of iron throats. 
BOOM ! 

The Bulgars answered with 115's, but this seemed to 
have little effect upon the Allied artillery. 
CRASH ! BOAB ! 

Gun after gun spat and shrieked at the mountain 
fastness and the brushwood was soon blazing. Columns 
of yellowish smoke began to ascend from the hillside, 
while the great valley resounded to the roar of the 
booming cannon. All day raged the artillery duel, 



FRANCHET D'ESPEREY 243 

and the stillness of night was grateful to the ears of 
the war-worn soldiery. 

Morning came — the morning of September 15th — 
again spoke the signal gun, and, promptly at five o'clock 
a. m. the French Colonials went over the top. Cheer- 
ing wildly, they rushed at the enemy trenches with 
bomb and bayonet, while an artillery barrage prepared 
the way. The Bulgars were no match for them, they 
seemed to be unable to cope with these cheering, piking, 
striking Poilus. 

The Sengalese troops of the French army captured the 
first line and nine hundred demoralized prisoners in 
just about forty minutes. They took the second line 
shortly afterwards, except for one trench which was 
crammed with machine guns. A company of Sengalese 
bombers attacked this in the rear, and it also fell. 
The day was drawing to a close and the Bulgars seemed 
everywhere to be defeated. 

On the extreme right of the line the Serbian troops 
also advanced, driving the Bulgars from their first 
and second line trenches with ease. The British line 
fought grimly, but no advance was obtained, and the 
Bulgars claimed a repulse with heavy losses, a claim 
which has never been fully justified. 

In the center, the Allied Division had to wait while 
the division on the left engaged the Bulgars on the 
slopes of Sokol and in the marshes at the foot of Dobro- 
Polje, where, although badly hampered by the terrain, 
they finally completed the task set before them. By 
eight o'clock in the evening the principal Bulgar posi- 



244 FAMOUS GENERALS 

tions were in the hands of the Allies, the only obstacle 
remaining being the Grantza Peak. 

The Bulgars began to pull themselves together and 
they offered stubborn resistance, even attempting to 
hurl the Allies back over the original line, but reinforce- 
ments were coming up quickly and they could do noth- 
ing. It was a smashing attack that was delivered, and 
the Bulgar picked troops were hurried up to stem the 
advance. They could do no damage. On all sides 
and everywhere, as the growling cannon boomed and 
spat, the French, Sengalese, Italians, Greeks, and Brit- 
ish, pressed the mountain tribesmen back. Night fell 
and there was little dancing in the camp of the Bulgars. 
Instead there was weeping and lamentation. 

The Krantza Crest — the key to the entire position 
— was bitterly fought for, and eventually it was 
firmly held by the Allies. On the left, the French 
Division took Sokol and Dobro-Polje and a swamp 
which was thick with hidden machine-guns. On the 
right, the Serbs held Vetrenick and the mountainous 
Pass called the Vetrenick Elephant's Ear. Evening 
fell upon a field strewn with dead and dying. 

Next morning the brown eyes of General D'Esperey 
were flashing, for it had been a glorious victory. More 
than three thousand Bulgar prisoners streamed to the 
rear behind the Allied line, while fully fifty guns were 
theirs, including a number of 155's. The heavier guns 
were immediately turned upon the enemy by the Serbs, 
and great shells went ricocheting over their new-made 
trenches. Quantities of trench-mortars, machine-guns, 



FRANCHET D'ESPEREY 245 

rifles, and munitions of all kinds, had fallen into the 
hands of the victors. 

But there was little fight left in the army of hillmen 
and goat-herds. The Allies went marching onward, 
with cheers and with confidence, while a flag of truce 
was soon exhibited upon the other side. Mr. Bulgar 
had had quite enough. 

In fact, the doughty Franchet had taken the follow- 
ing towns with the extraordinary names of: Prelep, 
Yeles, Ish-tich (where there must have been a gentle 
touch) and Strummit-za. 

No wonder that people who owned such possessions 
wanted to get rid of them, so, Bulgaria asked an ar- 
mistice and the victory of Yardar had closed the war in 
the Balkans. 

Franchet D'Esperey smiled — even laughed — for he 
had done a good day's work. 



THE CALL TO AEMS 

I am just a simple Frenchman 

And I live at Bar le Due, 
Where we make good cheese and jelly, 

Which we sell to every cook. 
I am just a simple fellow, 

I'm for peace and the joyous dance, 
And I love the rolling acres 

Of my native, beauteous France. 

Why should these Germans wish to fight ? 

Go ask their Kaiser grand, 
He dresses forty times a day 

And owns a lot of land. 
He talks of being linked with God, 

He prates of heavenly fire, 
Which, emanating from the sky, 

Rolls 'round him like a spire. 

Quite right, Monsieur, I love them not, 

And what, sir, can I do ? 
These Ehinish fellows want to fight, 

And they'll get a good one, too. 
They swarm down on our country 

And they drink up all our wine, 
And they laugh at us, and say that we 

Are " feeble, spineless swine." 

246 



THE CALL TO ARMS 247 

Parbleu, Monsieur ! The summons comes, 

It echoes o'er the hill 
The bugle's throat is bursting with 

The angry call to kill ! 
It says : " Rise up, you Poilu!" 

Which means you hairy men, 
Who used to live here years ago 

In a Neolithic den. 

So, au revoir, my happy home, 

And au revoir, my wife, 
I've got to go and fight the Boche 

And end this foolish strife. 
Why is it that they want our land ? 

Why won't they leave us be? 
Ta done! I do not know, Monsieur, 

Perhaps the Sphinx can see ! 



EDOUARD DE CURIERES 
DE CASTELNAU 

THE DEFENDEK OF NANCY 



EDOUARD DE CURIERES 
DE CASTELNAU 

THE DEFENDER OF NANCY 

A FRENCH General — grizzled, troubled-looking, 
sad-eyed — was dictating dispatches to his Quar- 
termaster near the battle-lines at Verdun. Far 
away roared the great guns, and white wisps of smoke 
rolled across the pock-marked fields. Suddenly a mud- 
bespattered officer appeared, and, saluting, stood at at- 
tention as the war-weary General looked him over. 

" What is it, Piquard ? " asked the General, still 
scribbling. 

The officer had tears in his eyes and did not reply. 

Again the General queried: 

" What is it ? » 

Now the officer had found his voice, but it was 
quavering, as he stammered: 

" Your son Xavier has just been killed in Alsace. 
They say that he fell gloriously in a charge." 

The old soldier's eyes glistened with tears and he 
remained silent. Then, turning to his Quartermaster, 
he remarked: 

" Go on, sir. One cannot forestall the Will of God. 
His Will be done." 

Without more ado, this Spartan continued with his 

dispatches, and soon completed the work at hand. He 

was a Stoic — and a Philosopher. Yet deep, deep into 

251 



252 FAMOUS GENERALS 

his fatherly heart had pierced the Arrow of Sorrow. 

This philosophical soldier of the French Republic 
was General de Castelnau, known all over France as 
the " Hero of the Grande Couronne de Nancy." 

A true veteran is the eminent soldier; a veteran not 
only of the Great World War which has just ended, 
but also a veteran of the war of 1870 between France 
and Prussia. General Curieres de Castelnau, in fact, 
was born on December 24th, 1851, at Saint- Afrique, 
Aveyron. His father, a distinguished Avocat, or Law- 
yer, had left the family castle Saint-Come in order to 
settle in this little French town, where he married 
Mademoiselle Barthe, of Rouergne, whose ancestors 
had all been Notaries at Murasson, as well as Mayors 
of the sleepy little village. 

In the Eighteenth Century Jean Baptiste de Curieres, 
Baron of Castelnau, was a Page of the French King, 
and in the year 1750 he was made a Captain of Cavalry. 
In 1770 we find him a Lieutenant Colonel, a Brigadier 
in 1772, and a Marshal in 1788. He was a fighter, too, 
and was desperately wounded at Forbach, in recognition 
of which the King gave him a sword studded with 
jewels, which has been preserved as a precious relic by 
the de Castelnaus for many years. 

This eminent soldier had three brothers, one of whom 
was an Abbey, another a Chevalier, and a third was 
distinguished as a Sea Captain. This fellow married 
his cousin Ayral du Bourg, and had a son Jean Bap- 
tiste — historian — one of whose sons was the father 
of Michel de Castelnau, born at Espalion in 1810, who 
was the father of the General of the Great War. 



DE CASTELNAU 253 

The street where the now eminent soldier was born 
is on the edge of the River Sorge, and, although it 
formerly had the name of Bart, this has now been 
changed to the Street of General de Castelnau. This 
change was made on January 8th, 1916, and many 
speeches were made at the time, by the Mayor, and 
others, in praise of this gallant Frenchman who com- 
manded the French Poilus at the awful battles around 
Verdun. 

All of the de Castelnau brothers went to a Sanctuary 
of the St. Joseph Catholic Sisters, in the village of 
Bart, and it has been recorded that, although the two 
older brothers excelled in their lessons, the youngest 
of all — the Great de Castelnau — remained at the 
bottom of his class in every one of his studies. In spite 
of this inability to be a student he was so full of fun 
that he was the life of every party. He was also of 
an inquisitive frame of mind and was one day discovered 
in the act of dissecting a mechanical horse in order to 
see what was in his stomach. In physical sports he 
was always first, and in military tactics also. 

The French boys were accustomed to play a game 
called tournoi, or tournament, which was something 
similar to the game of Rounders. They also used to 
get up mock-plays, or fetes, called carrousels. One 
day the great Bishop of Founders — known also as the 
Monseigneur de Lalle, head of the Diocese of Nancy, 
came to the school, so a fete, or carrousel, was staged 
for his especial benefit, in which our future de Castel- 
killer-of-men took a very prominent role. 

At the close of this affair there was a great parade 



254 FAMOUS GENERALS 

of all who had taken part, and the future General, 
mounted in a Greek chariot, drawn by soldiers, was 
carried past the portly Bishop, whom he saluted by 
bowing low. The Prelate was much pleased by the 
performance, and especially by the work of little de 
Castelnau, so he said: 

" Young man, I congratulate you. You have staged 
this affair quite excellently, and you yourself are to 
be highly commended for all that you have done to 
make my visit a happy one. I thank you, and may 
you continue to bring happiness to all." 

This was in the year 1867, quite a long time ago, you 
see, but the future General never forgot what the good 
Bishop had said to him. 

Little de Castelnau remained for nine years in the 
College of St. Gabriel before he went to Paris and be- 
came a student at St. Cyr; the same Military School 
at which Napoleon the First was educated. Here he 
remained only a few months and did not graduate. In- 
stead he was dispatched to the Ehine on August 6th, 
1870, and billeted with the 31st Infantry, which was 
soon engaged with the advancing Prussian army under 
Von Moltke and Bismarck. Six months after he had 
left St. Cyr he was a Captain, and he was only nineteen 
years of age. 

Throughout the fierce struggle between Napoleon the 
Third and the Prussians the eminent soldier fought 
with a courage that was most commendable, and, at the 
close of the campaign, he continued in the army, enter- 
ing the College of War in 1878. 

Since this time he has always been identified with 



DE CASTELNAU 255 

the French army, and his career has been stable and 
ever upward. 

In 1889 he was a Commandant. 

In 1891 he was decorated. 

In 1900 he was made a Colonel. 

In 1909 he was created General of Brigade. 

In 1913 General, or " Papa/' JofTre called him to 
be Chief-of-StafT of the French Army. He was soon 
sent to take charge of the Poilus in Lorraine, and was 
made General-in-Chief of the Second Army, which 
valiantly withstood the shock of the superior German 
forces which were hurled upon bleeding France. The 
Army of Lorraine was held on the heights of the Grand 
Couronne de Nancy while " Papa " JofTre gave battle 
to the Germans on the Ourcq and the Marne. 

The village of Nancy, shelled by the great German 
guns, stood in the path of the advancing Teutons, and, 
with all the might of their vast machine they here 
endeavored to crash through the French lines and on 
towards Paris. But they had General de Castelnau 
to contend with, and they had the Army of Lorraine, 
the ranks of which were filled with fathers of families, 
with brothers and relatives of all the women and chil- 
dren behind, who were clinging to their houses and 
farms, hoping against hope that this tide of invasion 
would be checked. 

The French 75 's were limbered up and pointed at 
the Germans, and whenever the Hunnish masses en- 
deavored to press onward over the hills of Nancy they 
were met with such a withering fire from the belching 
light guns that they could never advance. 



256 FAMOUS GENERALS 

Finally, the French themselves went on, and General 
de Castelnau had the satisfaction of seeing the Hun- 
nish forces beaten away from the town, while their long 
lines of artillery had to be withdrawn from the trenches 
of the Mortagne and the Meurthe to positions nearer 
their own frontier. 

A great sigh of satisfaction went up from all the 
French behind the solid line, as this withdrawal oc- 
curred, but there was weeping and desolation in every 
home, for the very flower of France had fallen — among 
them the youngest son of our General, and also his 
favorite, the boy Xavier. The great soldier was the 
father of eight sons and four daughters. 

Although the Battle of the Marne will go down to 
history as the great battle of this war, this battle of 
Xancy and of Lorraine was the most important of 
French victories, and it made possible the defeat of the 
Germans at the Marne. This Lorraine field was the 
field that France and Germany had planned — for a 
generation — to fight on. The French General Staff 
had prepared numerous plans of battle for this par- 
ticular sector, as all knew that the Germans would enter 
France through the gap in between the Vosges moun- 
tains and the hills of the Meuse. 

Had the Germans but respected the neutrality of 
Belgium, and not invaded the territory of King Albert, 
the entire army would have pressed into France by 
this route. The Marne battlefield was one reached 
by the Germans by chance. This field, however, was 
one upon which the French had always known that 
they would have to fight — every foot of this country 



DE CASTELXAU 257 

had been thoroughly studied by the members of the 
French General Staff. 

General de Castelnau had commanded an annv 
whose line stretched from the village of Pant-a-Musson, 
on the north, to Bayon — southeast of this position. 
Barbed-wire entanglements were in front of all this 
sector, and in the woods of Bois de Fac the Germans 
reached the high-water mark of their invasion, a posi- 
tion similar to the Clump of Trees at Gettysburg. In 
the field below this wood now lie four thousand dead 
Germans ; who they were no one knows ; they came here 
at the command of their Kaiser, and they died here 
before the weltering fire of the French muskets and 
75's. 

Straight across the river from here, aud west of it. 
is the Forest of the Advance Guard, where were thou- 
sands of German machine-guns on the day of battle. 
Here the French, lying in their trenches, had been 
swept by an awful fire, but tenaciously and gamely 
they had held on. So frightful were their losses, how- 
ever, that their commander had received an order to 
retreat. He insisted that the order be put in writing 
so as to gain time, for he did not wish to fall back. 
The order finally came — made out by one of General 
de Castelnau's aides. It had to be obeyed, so the 
French slowly and reluctantly retreated. With silence 
and depression they went southward. Suddenly a cry 
resounded all aloug the line. It was: "The Germans 
are retreating, themselves." 

" En Avant ! " With a cheer the French came back. 
reoccupied their old trenches, and fired at the backs of 



258 FAMOUS GENERALS 

the enemy, — the northern door to Nancy had been 
blocked by the bodies of the Poilu. 

Yet the Germans attempted to regain the lost ground 
and made a night attack. Not less than twenty thou- 
sand men — an entire Division — were formed beyond 
the French position, and launched four times at the 
bleeding but gamey Poilus. The slope which they ad- 
vanced over was very gradual and these were picked 
troops, chosen to break through to Paris. But — they 
failed — failed so utterly that they called this the Hill 
of the Dead, and thousands of them now lie there, buried 
without any regard to either regiment or name. 

The Grand Mont d'Armance is on the southeastern 
corner of the Grand Couronne, and is the most famous 
point of the Lorraine front. Prom the top of this 
hill, one thousand and three hundred feet high, one 
can look eastward into German Lorraine, the Promised 
Land of France. On the top of this hill General de 
Castelnau watched his own troops follow the Germans 
over the frontier in August. In the hills beyond the 
Germans had hidden their machine-guns, and, as the 
Poilus advanced exultantly, they had been unsupported 
by artillery, so had broken badly when enfiladed by the 
murderous German fire. 

In the valley below, more than two hundred thousand 
men had fought for days and days. At one place a 
French brigade charged across the fields at 8 :15 o'clock 
p. m., and by 8 :30 it had lost three thousand out of 
six thousand men. Then the Germans, flushed with 
success, debouched from the woods to charge themselves, 
and in a quarter of an hour they lost three thousand five 



DE CASTELNATT 259 

hundred soldiers. The land is simply one vast grave- 
yard. 

In the distance is the little Seille River, which marked 
the line of the old frontier. Across this first came the 
Germans, and across this they afterwards retreated, 
swarming across the low, bare hills, and disappearing 
into the woods — the Forest of Champenoux. Here 
they rallied, turned, and fought a frightful battle with 
the exultant French, which lasted for days. The trees 
are hacked and torn to pieces with shell fire. 

At the foot of the hill is a fountain, in the center of 
a cluster of buildings, and here is where the Germans 
reached their highest point of advance. The houses 
were torn asunder, the whole place was badly wrecked 
by the battle, while just beyond was the line which 
Prince Bismark had drawn upon the soil of France as 
the boundary between France and Germany after the 
war of 1870, a line which had been a bleeding wound 
in the side of France ever since. 

It is said, that, — as the attack was going on near 
the Forest of the Advance Guard, the Kaiser and a 
brilliant staff rode upon a hill near the river Seille to 
watch the progress of the battle, and to advance into 
Xancy at the head of his triumphant troops. Clad in 
white uniform and breast-plate of mail, he was a thing 
of joy and beauty forever. But there was to be no 
triumphant advance, instead a riotous retreat, with the 
disheveled legions cut-up, butchered, and massacred by 
the French machine-gun and rifle fire. The Kaiser had 
not guessed correctly — this was a far different France 
from the France which Prussia attacked in 1870. 



260 FAMOUS GENERALS 

The people of Nancy itself remained calm during all 
of this bitter fighting, for they had been expecting this 
very thing for many years. The bakers still made mac- 
aroons and the children still went to school, in spite 
of air-raids by Taubes and Zeppelins. For forty-six 
years the population had lived before the German fron- 
tier expecting invasion at any moment and thus they 
were well prepared for just such happenings. 

" Peace will come, but not until we have our ancient 
frontier," said the people. " We must have Metz and 
Strassburg again. We have waited a long, long time 
for revenge, and it must be ours." 

Yet — without the assistance of the United States, 
it looked as if that day of revenge were never to arrive. 

It was the third week in August, 1914, that the army 
of de Castelnau crossed the frontier of Alsace-Lorraine 
and entered upon German territory, and it was a joyful 
day for France when it was announced that the victori- 
ous armies had reached the villages of Sarrebourg and 
Morhange, and were sitting upon the Strassburg-Metz 
railroad. Yet in Berlin there was gloom and depres- 
sion, and no one there had any regard for the name of 
de Castelnau. 

The French themselves thought so highly of their 
soldier that, on December 11th, 1915, he was made a 
Brigadier General, which gave him the position of Gen- 
eralissimo, and shortly after this he was called by 
General Petain to help save the Citadel of Verdun. 
This was in February, 1916. 

Of Petain and Verdun, you know. You know how 
long and how strenuously the Germans under the Crown 



DE CASTELNAU 261 

Prince endeavored to seize this stronghold, and you 
know how valorously the French fought. To Petain 
and JofTre have been given the honor of this stubborn 
resistance, but de Castelnau was also there, and he 
directed many a counter-assault against the lines of the 
enemy. Verdun is now a wreck — a pile of ashes — 
but if future generations are to place tablets to com- 
memorate the gallant defenders of the citadels and forts 
they will do well to place the name of de Castelnau 
upon one of them, and to place it in a most conspicuous 
position. 

So proud of their soldier have been the people of 
the town of Bart that they have wanted to replace the 
statue of Liberty there, chiseled by Bartholdi, with one 
of the brave hero of the Couronne de Nancy, but so far 
they have not done so. Perhaps this may yet happen. 

On September 18th, 1917, a delegation of his town- 
folk carried him a sword, and, after a poem had been 
read and an address had been made by the Mayor, it 
was presented to the aged hero; a veritable Chevalier 
Bayard, with a heart of steel and a soul of crystal. 

The gleaming weapon was of the finest workmanship 
and was quite fit for a King. On the hilt was em- 
blazoned a coat-of-arms of the General, with the inscrip- 
tion in Latin : " Currens Post Gloriam Semper," 
which means " Always Following After Glory." This 
inscription was surrounded by a wreath of laurel, sym- 
bolic of the lives of the de Castelnaus. 

A day or two before the armistice was signed, the 
prominent man of war was named to command a group 
of armies, known as the Army of the East, and he had 



262 FAMOUS GENERALS 

made elaborate preparations to make a great attack be- 
tween Strassburg and Metz. The armistice saved the 
Germans from sure defeat and annihilation. 

The end of the Great World War finds General de 
Castelnau respected and loved by the French, and 
shortly to be named Inspector of Armies. May the 
closing years of the life of the Hero of the great battles 
in Lorraine be fraught with praise and honor, for the 
doughty general of the zealous Poilus had saved Civili- 
zation from the domination of the hard-fisted and ill- 
mannered Germans. 



THE GKAVE AT NANCY 

There's a green-topped hill at Nancy, where the wind- 
blown poppies grow, 

There's a shot-torn hill at Nancy, where the quivering 
aspens blow, 

There's a sloping vale at Nancy, where the limbers 
trotted by, 

There's a laughing brook at Nancy, beneath the azure 
sky. 

The linnets sing at Nancy, and their swelling throats 

breathe joy, 
The chaffinch trills at Nancy, — but, where is my 

darling boy? 
'Neath the gas-seared sod at Nancy, he lies — a hero 

brave, 
On the green-topped hill at Nancy they dug his lonely 

grave. 

There lie his comrades — staunch and true — who faced 

the leaden hail, 
There sleep the soldiers — rank on rank — at death 

they didn't quail. 
There are the youthful sons of France, now sleeping 

where they fell, 
There rest the men of Alsace-Lorraine, — they did their 

duty well. 



264 FAMOUS GENERALS 

True — the linnets sing at Nancy — there's joy beneath 

the sun, 
Yea — the orioles build at Nancy, their nests with 

pleasure spun, 
But my heart lies there at Nancy, 'neath the shell-torn, 

bleeding sod, 
For my son sleeps there at Nancy, — his soul rests with 

his God. 



JAN SMUTS 

LEADEK OF THE BKITISH FORCES 
IN SOUTH AFRICA 



JAN SMUTS 

LEADER OE THE BRITISH FORCES 
IN SOUTH AFRICA 

" Jannie is for South Africa, 
One and great and free, 
' But,' he says, ' if you want it so, 
You must leave it all to me.' 

" Jannie' s too big for heaven, 

So, at the last trump's sound, 

They'll clear a space in a suitable place, 

A special shrine, quite round — 

" Paneled and tiled with statesmen, 

The great of bygone days, 

And Jannie will tread on the glorious dead, 

And we shall sing his praise. 

" Jannie will take the top note, 

The rest won't sing for nuts, 

But you can ne'er tell, he may end in — well, 

Jannie may end in ' Smuts.' " 

While the Allies were struggling with the Boche in 
Flanders and in France, the East African possessions 
of the Germans were being wrested away from them 
by the English and Boer troops, led by General Jan 
Smuts, a man who formerly led rebellious soldiers 

against the British flag. 

267 



268 FAMOUS GENERALS 

Less than sixteen years ago this military leader was 
in arms against Great Britain. Since that eventful era 
he has held almost every cabinet position in the govern- 
ment of the Union of South Africa. He has been at 
different intervals State Attorney for the Transvaal, 
Acting Assistant Commandant General, Minister of the 
Interior, Minister of Finance, and has repeatedly as- 
sumed the place of General Botha — the Premier — 
when this official has been absent on a tour of duty. 

The Boer-Englishman was born in the year 1870, at 
Cape Colony, and thus first saw the light of day when 
united Germany — under Bismarck and Von Moltke — 
was crushing the disorganized French forces led by 
Napoleon the Third. Educated at Victoria College at 
Stellenbasch in South Africa, and at Christ Church, 
England, he achieved distinction as a student. After- 
wards he studied law and applied himself so diligently 
to this branch of learning that shortly after his return 
to Cape Town, when only twenty-eight years of age, 
he was made States Attorney under President Kruger. 

When war broke out with England, the youthful bar- 
rister was an aide to his chief, when a meeting was 
held with the British Commissioners at Bloemfontein 
which resulted in war between Boer and Uitlander. 
During the bad days which succeeded, he served with 
distinction as a leader of the former fighters from veldt 
and mining-town. He learned to know South Africa 
from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic as one learns a 
country only under the searching test of war, and as he 
himself says of this era: " I believe it is generally ad- 
mitted that I covered more country than any other com- 




JAN SMUTS 



JAN SMUTS 269 

mander in the field, on either side — and my movements 
were not always in the direction of the enemy." 

When Germany attacked France, in the present war, 
some one in the little village of Johannesburg was heard 
to sing a ditty which ran: 

" D'ye ken Jan Smuts when he's after the Hun, 
D'ye ken Jan Smuts when he's got 'em on the run, 
D'ye ken Jan Smuts when he's out with his gun, 
And his horse and his men in the morning ? " 

" Yes, I ken Jan Smuts and Jourdain, too, 
Van der V. and Sportsman Selous, 
Springbok and Sikh, for they're all true blue, 
When they're straffing the Hun in the morning." 

Jan Smuts, in fact, now General Smuts, if you 
please, was after the South African Boche with as large 
an army as the British and loyal Boers could muster. 
The initial events of the anti-German campaign were 
to seize the rail-head of the Tanga-Kilimanjaro line, 
the capture of the town of Moshi, and the threatening 
of the central German railway from Dar-es-Salam to 
Tanganyika. The British advanced through a dense 
brush country, under a blazing sun, and were wet by 
fearful rains, yet in spite of all obstacles they turned 
many positions elaborately prepared by the Germans, 
and, fighting an endless series of minor engagements, 
they gradually drove the Germans back to the interior 
of German East Africa. Within a year after the Boche 
had invaded the British possessions he had been hustled 
out of them, his army had been reduced two-thirds by 
death and capture, and, what was left of him, was 



270 FAMOUS GENERALS 

confined to the southern and southwestern part of the 
former German colony. 

At the beginning of the year 1916 the honors were 
clearly with the Germans, as far as their East African 
possessions were concerned. They had their colony in- 
tact, and, as their Governor von Schnee proclaimed, 
they could resist any reinforcements which the British 
might bring up, since they were self-supporting. They 
believed that the tropical climate would kill off those 
who wished to seize their country. Climate, swamp- 
land, great distances, and mountains, were better safe- 
guards than either numbers or munitions of war. As 
they were on the initiative and the British were on 
the defensive, there was good cause for their confidence 
in ultimate victory. Their raiding-parties were con- 
tinuously assaulting the Uganda and Voi-Maktau rail- 
ways, and they held a considerable amount of British 
territory along the line of the Lumi Biver and in the 
Gap of Kilimanjaro, the main gateway to the north from 
British East Africa. 

East Africa was the only colony left to Germany at 
the beginning of 1916, as that country had lost Togo- 
land, Southwest Africa, and the Cameroons on the west 
coast. Therefore she was fully determined to cling to 
her richest possession. Some of Germany's War Lords 
even dreamed of a day — not far distant — when Ger- 
many would control all of middle Africa — Mittel- 
Af rica, as they called it — when it would have a popu- 
lation of fifty million natives and half a million Ger- 
mans, when great cities would have sprung up on Lake 
Chad and Tanganyika, and when a Lake Chad express 



JAN SMUTS 271 

would run direct from Berlin to this country. The 
Kaiser had told his people in Africa to hold out to 
the last, and, with the hope that their armies in Europe 
would force the English, French, and Belgians to their 
knees, the Germans in East Africa determined to yield 
nothing and to fight to the bitter end. 

The Germans were commanded by von Lettow-Vor- 
beck — an officer of the general staff — who had at one 
time been Chief of Staff in the Posen district of Ger- 
many. He was a machine-gun specialist, and clearly 
saw the advantage of this terrible weapon in bush-fight- 
ing. He had an abundance of native troops, the best 
fighting stock in Africa — Sudanese, Somalis, Zulus, 
and the Wanyamwezi. His men knew this tangled 
country like a book; they were immune against the 
tropical diseases which beset the English, and, as Vor- 
beck had no conscience, like all Germans, he enforced 
discipline by the lash and chain. Before General Jan 
Smuts began to hammer him he had a larger and 
better force than the English, and even after the arrival 
of reinforcements from India, which were ' added to 
his opponent's forces, he had an army scarcely inferior 
to that in front of him. It was the first time that an 
English army fighting in a tropical wilderness had met 
another army trained by Europeans and of intelligence 
equal to their own. The struggle, as General Smuts 
says, was a " campaign against Nature, in which cli- 
mate, geography, and disease fought more effectively 
against us than the well-trained forces of the enemy." 

When General Smuts began his campaign, large con- 
tingents had been raised in South Africa, and, apart 



272 FAMOUS GENERALS 

from the troops on the lakes and the Ehodesia and 
Nyasaland forces, there were two British Divisions in 
the country. The First Division, under General 
Stewart, was at Longido ; and the Second Division, un- 
der General Tight, was on the Voi-Makatau line. The 
Germans were supposed to have sixteen thousand men, 
of whom two thousand were white; the rest native 
Africans. Concentrated in the Kilimanjaro district, 
the German army watched the oncoming British with 
grim defiance in their eyes. Would their Kultur be 
supreme in this far distant land ? 

General Smuts had determined to " drive " the coun- 
try from north to south with his own men, while his 
assistant, or subsidiary forces, of British and Belgians 
were to move eastward from Lake Victoria, from Lake 
Kivu, from Tanganyika and Xyasa. He wished, in 
fact, to split the enemy country. Adopting a plan 
which he knew that Von Lettow Vorbeck would not 
dream that he would assume, he flung himself into the 
wilds, trusting to God for time to pick up new communi- 
cations as he proceeded. It was necessary that he move 
at once, for the rains would soon be coming, and then 
it would be perfectly impossible to go on. He hoped — 
as far as possible — to fight upon the high lands, or, 
at any rate, to have the uplands adjacent to his rest 
camps and hospitals. 

It was a bright clear day in that South African 
wilderness when the army of General Jan Smuts — 
splitting into three divisions — set out to push the 
enemy from the Tanga railway, and, advancing with 
elan, the columns went triumphantly forward, maintain- 



JAN SMUTS 273 

ing constant communication with each other by means of 
wireless. One brigade was operating among the foot- 
hills of the Pare Mountains where all had formerly 
been a wilderness. Here their armored cars often 
crossed the tracks of ostriches, elands, gnus, and other 
game, while soldiers occasionally took a pot-shot at a 
lurking hyena. By the end of May two of the brigades 
had converged and joined, driving before them a Ger- 
man force which was endeavoring to hold the railway 
between the mountains and the river. Just beyond this 
was the important German town of Wilhelmstal, and by 
the thirteenth of June this was occupied by the South 
African Union troops. The Germans beat a sullen re- 
treat to their town of Handeni, which they had strongly 
fortified. 

Meanwhile, the third British-Boer brigade — or 
Union Brigade, as it was called — had been left at the 
tongue-tying town of Kondoa-Irangi, where, under Ger- 
eral Van der Venter, an Anglicized Boer and a hard- 
riding cavalryman, the soldiers endeavored to drive out 
the German troops under General Vorbeck, who, it is 
said, was an able soldier who had seen considerable 
service in Germany with the " Kaiser's* own." This 
fellow, in fact, attacked Van der Venter, and the 
Allied troops were surrounded by a superior force. 
They suffered from scant provisions, yet reinforcements 
came to their assistance, and with a yell the desert- 
chasers of the British-Boer army were after the Boche. 
The Van der Venter Brigade started a sweeping move- 
ment towards the eastward in order to corner the re- 
treating Hun, while General Smuts smiled grimly from 



274 FAMOUS GENERALS 

the seat of his automobile. Horses had ceased to carrv 
Generals in South Africa, as in la Belle France. 

The Germans held Handeni. How were they to be 
defeated ? 

General Smuts was quite equal to the occasion and 
divided his forces into four columns of about an equal 
size. All were to march at a given signal and were to 
surround and converge on the German command at 
about the same time. The affair was managed with 
clock-like precision, and all were expecting to capture 
the Boche — when lo ! — as the troops arrived — the 
Germans had fled. Native spies had warned the 
Teutons that the Allies were approaching, so, giving up 
their great depot without firing a shot, they hurried 
backward into the bush. The troops under Smuts were 
thus robbed of a straight victory. Despite the diffi- 
culties and the danger of pressing the pursuit through 
a rough and desolate country, as soon as the Boer scouts 
had learned where the Boche had gone the troops were 
ordered to be up and after them. 

As the Boers and British went forward it was good 
to see the hearty welcome which was accorded them 
by the natives of this particular colony. The Germans 
had treated the black men with very little respect and 
had seized about all the food-stuffs that they could lay 
their hands upon. For this they would give the Aus- 
trian 20-heller piece in payment. To the savages this 
was valueless, as the natives will not barter with any 
coins save those of gold and of silver. 

The porters and carriers seemed to melt away from 
the German camps whenever an opportunity was offered 



JAN SMUTS 275 

them. " The Germans they no pay us. He no treat us 
fair," the natives whimpered, and from this it can be 
seen that fair and honest dealing with the natives will 
work wonders. If one is to retain the respect and al- 
legiance of savages, square-dealing must always he 
maintained. 

As the white men advanced, their movements were 
looked upon with speechless awe by the native black 
men. The aeroplane was called " the Bird " by them, 
and was more dreaded than the ferocious crocodiles in 
the rivers. An aviator descended, one day, upon -the 
farm-land of one of these black men, and, as he stood 
near his machine, the dusky inhabitant of South 
Africa walked towards him, with hand outstretched, 
saying : 

" Foh sho' you is de Lawd." 

Horses are virtually unknown in this part of the 
country, because of the stings of the tsetse fly, and thus 
the natives were dumfouncled at the mounted troops, 
calling them " Kabure," after the old mounted troops 
of the Boer army. Bodies of armed native soldiers 
have been often seen to throw away their rifles and run 
for dear life into the bush at first sight of soldiers on 
horse-back. 

The British soldiers cannot receive too high praise 
for their indefatigable purpose in this campaign. Re- 
member that the sun was a tropical one, the rations 
were scanty, and they were tortured by myriads of 
insect pests ; yet, in spite of heat, fever, mosquitoes and 
fatigue, they pressed joyfully on. The motor-cyclists 
had the worst duties to perform, and that they were 



276 FAMOUS GENERALS 

brave fellows is well exemplified by the following story : 

One day as the Rhodesian troops under Van der Ven- 
ter pressed onward, a patrol of four soldiers came upon 
a white man who was apparently lost in the bush. He 
was temporarily insane, was muttering incoherent sen- 
tences, was stark naked save for a breech clout, and 
was staggering along a path used by the natives. He 
was brought into camp, where he was clothed, fed, and 
given a bath. Then he regained his proper mind and 
told of his adventures. 

It seems that he had been bringing a dispatch from 
General Van der Venter to General Northey, and, in 
order to escape a piece of sandy soil, where his wheels 
would not turn, he left the main road. He soon found 
himself in a fearfully wild collection of bushes and 
native shrubs, where — unfortunately for him — a part 
of his machine became lost. Look as he would, he could 
not find it, so he was forced to leave his motorcycle in 
the wilderness. 

He had a rifle with him — of course — and with this 
he shot a small bird, but he became so weak that he 
could not carry his piece. He became weaker and 
weaker. He stumbled blindly forward. Then he lost 
consciousness and, when he woke up, found himself in 
the hands of the Rhodesian guard. 

The Germans, as we have said, were retreating, so 
the men under General Smuts marched along, as soon 
as the scouts learned something of the whereabouts of 
the Boche. 

On June 23d, secret orders were given, which 
were: 



JAN SMUTS 277 

" ]STiglit march with unwheeled transport. Guns to 
be carried on mules. Smoking forbidden." 

Late in the afternoon the infantrymen, in long lines, 
vanished into the dim recesses of the forest, walking 
in Indian file. In silence they progressed and early 
next morning scouts brought back word that the Ger- 
mans were upon an intrenched ridge, protected on the 
flank by the Lukigura Kiver. 

A part of the English-Boer force was now deployed 
to make a feint at the front of the works. A part — 
under General Haskin — made a wide, turning move- 
ment. All went well with both branches of the army, 
and by noon the flank was carried by a mixed force of 
fusileers and Kashmirs, while the troops which had 
made the feint in the front repulsed an attempt to 
break across the river. The Germans abandoned their 
position and again retreated. 

A contender in this affair has written : 

" That the position had been long and carefully pre- 
pared by the Germans ' in case of accident ' was evident 
from the elaborate care given the construction of their 
fortifications. One of their gun-pits in particular, was 
a masterpiece. Imagine a trench thirty yards in length 
with sleeping cubicles for the gunners and galleries 
leading to the officers dug-outs, magazines and pits, 
the whole being covered with heavy timber and 
earthen mounds. These were planted with aloes " all- 
alive-O," so that everything looked innocent enough, 
even in the case of aerial reconnoissance. Thorn 
bomas and machine-guns guarded every possible ave- 
nue of approach — from the front. The Germans 



278 FAMOUS GENERALS 

seemed incapable of imagining an attack from any 
other quarter." 

The Boche, you see, had been pretty well cut into by 
our Jan, and, in the meanwhile, a great movement was 
made in the south by General Northey, who advanced 
from the line between Xake Tanganyika and Nyasa, 
across the mountains which flanked the great plateau of 
German East Africa, on the west. It is a very moun- 
tainous region, but the troops stumbled over it, clam- 
bered across the ridges, took Bismarckburg, Neu Lan- 
genburg, and Iringa, where they joined hands with the 
men under Smuts and Van der Venter. The Germans 
were now pretty well disheartened. 

The western boundary of German East Africa was 
protected by a mountain-chain and a string of lakes, 
which, from the viewpoint of defense, made a magnifi- 
cent frontier, so that Belgian forces which moved from 
the Congo to the invasion of this country found it im- 
possible to invade the enemy territory from the West. 
Before the Belgians could get into the Boche territory 
they had to be moved in a northeasterly direction. 
Once up there, they fell upon the Boche like a wolf on 
the fold. 

The Belgian column reached a town called by the 
euphonious name of Kigali and drove the Germans 
everywhere before them. This place was the capital of 
the province of Ruanda, and, as the disheartened 
Teutons fell back from the neighborhood of Lake Kivu, 
the rest of the Belgians advanced from the west across 
the mountain barrier. At the same time a British 
column moved southward to the west of Lake Victoria 



JAN SMUTS 279 

Nyanza. They reached the borders of this great sheet 
of water, and, joining with the Belgian troops, a con- 
certed advance was made from Victoria Nyanza and 
Tanganika. The Germans had numerous armed ves- 
sels on the lake, but these were bombed and destroyed 
by sea planes. The Allies swept on and captured the 
town of Tabora, which — with the central railway — 
was occupied early in September of 1916. 

The Boche was being pummeled at every angle, for 
in the far southeastern section the Portuguese had come 
into action, in order to protect their frontier which lay 
along that of the Germans. They repulsed two raids 
on Kionsra and Unde, and, crossing; the frontier, took 
possession of a wide strip of German territory along a 
northern bank of the river. A light cruiser, meanwhile, 
sailed up the Rouvma River and detached naval land- 
ing parties which assisted in driving back the defenders 
of German East Africa. It began to look as if there 
would be total surrender for the owners of German 
East Africa. 

Smuts and Van der Venter soon were in action again, 
and it was to be the final, or " knock-out " blow to 
German supremacy of this particular part of the globe. 
Van der Venter, in fact, made a sudden dash, with a 
mounted column, in order to cut the railway line at 
Dodoma. The Germans were well intrenched, and, 
were also well supplied with machine guns. Had Van 
der Venter been a General Buller, he would have mas- 
sacred his men by attacking in front. But — not so. 
He went clean around the Dutchmen and to their 
rear, so, seeing that the verdampten Englander was in 



280 FAMOUS GENEBALS 

their front, and rear, at the same moment, the Boche 
had to evacuate the nek and establish himself across 
the railway in the rear. He was now at the sweet- 
sounding town of Mpapua, which one does not attempt 
to pronounce but once. 

Van, in fact, had his fighting blood up and deter- 
mined to finish the German occupation of East South 
Africa without much delay. So, having a firm grip 
on the railway, he swung eastward again, had an old- 
time catch-as-catch-can fight in the open, captured that 
town with the jaw-breaking name (Mpapua) and linked 
his hard-riding dragoons with an advance column of 
General Smuts' sent on from Mondo. The Germans 
were now in a hopeless position. Their two main forces 
were hopelessly cut off from each other, and the rem- 
nants of the Kaiser's Imperial Army in South Africa 
had to face the hard fact that they were soon to be 
driven from the tiny piece of railway which they were 
clinging to like leeches. Seeing their last stand, the 
cheerful Yan der Venter proceeded to drive home his 
final blow. 

Now was the closing scene of this great drama of 
the veldt. It occurred while Britain and Germany 
were in a death agony on the fields of Flanders. 

The German rear-guard — still with fight left in it 
— was outside the town of Kilossa, which might have 
better been named Kirch-wasser, after the favorite drink 
of the German Fatherland. The dare-devilish Van der 
Venter rode hard after this rear-guard, and, attacking 
it by foot and horse, drove the despairing Germans 
towards the sea-coast. Smuts — our Jan — mean- 



JAN SMUTS 281 

while had not been idle, and, following up this advan- 
tage, sent one of his best brigades to cooperate with a 
strong naval landing force, which, on the sixth day of 
September, entered Dar-es-Salam (meaning, in native 
South African, " The Haven of Peace "). The Boche 
retreated to Moro-Moro, and it proved to be a town of 
sorrow, even as is Morro castle at Havana, for a short 
time afterwards the entire German detachment sur- 
rendered. The stubborn defense of South Africa had 
been a commendable feat, and it was proof of the 
supreme importance which the German Government 
placed upon the possession of its East African Colony. 

The surrender of General von Lettow Vorbeck — the 
German Commander of East Africa — with his com- 
mand of about five thousand Europeans and natives, 
took place upon November 15th, 1917. The General's 
army included four hundred armed natives, machine- 
gun carriers, a medical unit, and numerous women 
who had followed their husbands through the hardships 
of years of campaigning. The entire force laid down 
their arms on the Chambez River, near Kasana, Rho- 
desia. 

Formed into three lines, the troops of the German 
army of defense stood at attention, while their com- 
mander read his formal surrender to General Edwards 
in charge of the British interests. Von Lettow then 
ordered his native troops to lay down their arms, but 
the Europeans among them were allowed to retain 
theirs in recognition of the hard fighting which they had 
experienced. The natives were then marched along to 
their internment camp. 



282 FAMOUS GENERALS 

It was a most impressive ceremonial, for the sur- 
rendering legions numbered one thousand five hundred 
and fifty-five Europeans, several hundred natives, and 
eight hundred and nineteen women. The men were all 
veterans of hundreds of fights and were surrounded by 
their women, who were carrying loads of food and of 
bedding, which they had staggered under during the 
entire campaign. Many of them had children with 
them, which were carried on their backs. The native 
carriers set up a loud shout when they learned that 
the war was at last over, and began to sing for joy 
when they understood that their hardships were behind 
them. 

General Smuts had thus aided in adding a vast 
territory to the British possessions in far away Africa. 
In economic value this region ranks very high among 
the tropical countries of the African continent, for 
probably no portion of Africa has a climate or soil more 
suitable to the production, on an immense scale, of copra, 
cocoanuts, coffee, sugar, sisal, rubber, cotton, and other 
tropical products than has this country. It is a ma- 
larial land and is full of wild animals, but science will 
overcome these drawbacks, and Central and East Africa 
will eventually become one of the most productive and 
valuable parts of the tropics. 

General Jan Smuts is not only an able General, but 
also a debater of the highest order. His speaking will 
command attention anywhere — even in the House of 
Commons — which once echoed with the masterful ora- 
tory of Burke, of Pitt, of Sheridan, and of Gladstone. 
He is a reserved man — even among his own friends — 



JAN SMUTS 283 

and never allows any one to be too familiar with his 
person. He has done much for South Africa already, 
and, if the colonies captured by force from Germany 
are to be added to the British possessions in this equa- 
torial country, Jan Smuts must be ranked with Cecil 
Rhodes, that masterful English colonist who said : " I 
want to see all of South Africa painted red." 



HE WAS FROM MISSOURI 

You know the Huns stormed Cambrai, and the shells 

were raining fast, 
You know that Devon troops were there, and they stood 

the withering blast, 
It was welter, welter, welter, and 'twas take cover if you 

please, 
Or else the shrilling whizz-bangs will knock you to your 

knees. 



You know the guns wrecked Cambrai, — as Von Hin- 

denberg advanced, 
Away out near the farthest walls, a single battery 

pranced, 
The shells were raining all around — they kicked up 

mud and dirt, 
While the Sergeant yelled out : " Steady, Lads, or 

someone will be hurt." 

Just then an H. E. lumbered in — it threw an awful 

mess, 
It scattered fragments yards around, it made the wheels 

" right dress," 
It knocked down men and non-coms and it tore the mules 

to bits, 
That is — all but one flea-bit brown, with- broad ears 

like two mits. 

284 



HE WAS FROM MISSOURI 285 

The concussion rolled him on his side — but he quickly 

scrambled up, 
And, opening wide his massive jaws, he sizzled like a 

" Hup," 
Then, collecting his extremities, like the nag of the One 

Hoss Shay, 
He out-roared the grim and thundering guns, with a 

withering, piercing bray. 

" You can't kill me, Mister Kaiser," spake the mule of 

Battery Five, 
" For I come from old Missouri, and I'm the vintage 

of '55, 
I've drunk of Missouri water, where the mud is five feet 

thick, 
And I've ranged in Texas typhoons, which chill you to 

the quick. 

" I've wintered in Montana, where the thermometer 
hit the ground, 

I've summered up Alaska way, where the Kaodiak bears 
are found, 

I've swum the old Platte Eiver, when the buffalo still 
were there, 

And I've ranged the steppes of Texas, when the cow- 
kings were on the tear. 

" I was mistaken for a wart-hog once, and was sold to 

Armour's plant, 
And when they ran me through the mill, you can bet 

my hair was scant, 



286 FAMOUS GENERALS 

But I chipped up their machinery, put their cog-wheels 

on the blink, 
And I came out on the other end — and gave the gang 

the wink. 

" I was in the charge at Gettysburg, just at the Clump 

of Trees, 
I scrambled on the Eound Tops when Grimes' Battery 

began to wheeze, 
I was down the Shenandoah when Phil Sheridan rode 

past, 
And, I tell you, Boys, that when he came, he sure was 

riding fast. 

" I was in the charge at San Juan Hill, where the 

shells were raining hard, 
And I was on the old ship Texas, when they nailed 

Cervera to the yard, 
I was in the fight at Elaandslaagte, with French and his 

dragoons, 
I was behind the lines at Bloemfontein, in those bright, 

South Afric moons. 

" I was with Kitchener at Khartoum, when we ran the 

Mahdi down, 
And I spent a year at the pyramids, midst the wastes of 

the desert brown. 
I was at the Belief of Lucknow, and I carried the King 

of Siam, 
I was at the fall of Port Arthur, when they gave the 

Russians the slam. 



HE WAS FROM MISSOURI 287 

" I'm as old as Old Methusaleh, and I'm as tough as 

Bessemer steel, 
I'm as lean as a wild hyena, and as slick as a banana 

peel, 
I'm all wool and a yard wide, I'm as wise as Mahomet 

of Ess, 
And if the Germans think I'm dead — why, they've 

got another guess." 

Just then, with a roar that was awful, a big shell hit 

the sod, 
And all looked askance, as this mule did prance — for 

they thought that he'd gone to his God, 
But Old Missouri gave the " Haw ! Haw," he turned 

and switched his tail, 
And walked away, with a contemptuous bray, perfectly 

sound and hale. 



SIR JULIAN H, BYNG 

THE MAN WHO LED THE SMASH 
AT CAMBRAI 



SIR JULIAN H. BYNG 

THE MAN WHO LED THE SMASH 
AT CAMBRAI 

f | ^HE man who led the big British drive at Cambrai 
is a man whom all the Canadians have a great 
respect for. " Bingo " Byng they call him, and 
he is such a strict disciplinarian that he makes all the 
men polish the backs of their buttons, as well as the nails 
on their boots. In the British army he was well known 
before this exploit, for he had been in the service for 
thirty years when he landed in Belgium, in October, 
1914, as Commander of the Third Cavalry Division. 
He covered the Belgian retreat from Antwerp to Ypres, 
together with General Rawlinson, with the Seventh 
Cavalry Division, and he did it well. 

General, the Honorable Sir Julian Hedworth Byng 
— if you please — K.C.B., C.M.G., is the seventh son 
of the Earl of Stafford. As a young man he entered 
the army with a commission in the 10th Hussars, and 
with that famous regiment he served in the Soudanese 
campaign in 1884. He won distinction in the South 
African war, where he was promoted to be colonel of 
the regiment. In 1902-1904 he commanded the regi- 
ment, and, after that, became the head of the Cavalry 

School at Netheravor, Salisbury Plain. Made a major- 

291 



292 FAMOUS GENERALS 

general in 1900, he has been a divisional commander 
since 1914. 

Ask any one about " Bingo " Byng, and they will 
tell you : " He's a fine soldier, a sportsman, and a 
gentleman, to boot. He knows his business thoroughly, 
and he can lead cavalry like a true fox-hunter." 

That's about what an English general should be, — 
a sportsman, a clean fellow through and through, and 
a Christian gentleman. 

General Byng was married in 1902 to Miss Marie 
Evelyn Moreton, a well-known novelist, and he is the 
grandson of the first Earl of Stafford, a noted Field 
Marshal. A historical cloud rested upon the name of 
Byng for many years, for in 1756 Admiral John Byng 
was appointed to command a hastily equipped squadron 
of ten ships sent to the relief of Minorca, which was 
blocked by a French fleet. 

The Admiral fought an unsatisfactory battle from 
the British standpoint, and was accused of hesitation in 
attacking the enemy fleet. Public indignation was 
great against him, he was tried by court-martial and 
was found to be guilty of treason to his native land. 
Though recommended to mercy, the ministry then in 
power insisted upon the extreme penalty. He was con- 
sequently shot by a firing squad on the war- 
ship Monarch, at Portsmouth, March 14th, 1757. 

Thus for more than a century and a half a cloud 
has clung over the memory of this seaman. The gen- 
eral verdict of the English historians is that the exe- 
cution of Admiral Byng was a case of undue severity, 
and, after a calm review of the circumstances in the 




SIR JULIAN H. BYNG 



SIR JULIAN H. BYNG 293 

case, his worst fault seems to have been that he was 
too cautious. Xo one would accuse him now of being 
a traitor. 

In spite of this shadow which has hung over the 
name of Byng for a hundred and sixty years, that 
name to-day is as noted as any in the annals of British 
warfare. The brilliant assault at Cambrai has cleared 
away the cloud which besmirched the name of our Gen- 
eral for such a long period of time. This once hated 
name is now on every lip, for " Bingo " Byng was the 
man who led the smash at Cambrai. 

" Bingo's " Third Division was a part of the Cavalry 
Brigade — under Allenby — which held the southern 
half of the salient during the first battle of Ypres. 
In May of 1915 General Byng succeeded General 
Allenby (sent to capture Jerusalem) in command of 
the Cavalry Corps, and in this position fought through 
the battle of Ypres. In the summer of 1915 he was 
given the Xinth Corps at the Dardanelles, where he 
stayed until the expedition was withdrawn. Thus, in 
February, 1916, he came back to Trance and here he 
was placed in command of the Canadian Corps, which 
then formed part of Sir Herbert Gough's Fifth Army, 
and which figured continuously in the desperate fighting 
on Thiepval Bidge. As part of the Third Army — 
under General Home — General Byng and the Ca- 
nadians were moved north to the neighborhood of 
Vimy Kidge in the fall of 1916. Byng's Canadians 
took Vimy Bidge. 

General French well recognized the merit of 
" Bingo " Byng, for, when his cavalry division fell back 



294 FAMOUS GENEKALS 

before Ypres, protecting the Belgian withdrawal, these 
troops stopped the Germans in their march to the sea. 
In the official reports of the time, General French says 
that the troops under General Byng were repeatedly 
called upon to restore situations at critical moments and 
to fill gaps in the line caused by the tremendous losses 
which occurred. In recognition of his work at that 
time, Bingo was made a Knight Commander of Sir 
Michael and St. George. 

When they first went to Europe the Canadian troops 
were ineffective, because they did not sufficiently ap- 
preciate the value of rigid and punctilious discipline. 
They were full of courage and initiative — too much, 
in fact — but these qualities, to have military value 
must be subordinate to discipline. When they learned 
by bitter experience that to be foolhardy was foolish- 
ness, and when they welcomed stern discipline, they 
came to be the most effective troops in the line. 
" Bingo " Byng taught them their discipline. Their 
lack of caution taught them to be more cautious, for 
thousands were killed by undue exposure to the elements. 

" Byng was in charge at Vimy Ridge," an official 
remarked, " and he certainly ran the show well." 

But what of Vimy ? Vimy Ridge stood between the 
British army and the town of Douai, with Lens on 
the left and Bullecourt upon the right. It was well 
fortified and was held by German picked troops, but 
the Canadians said " thou shalt go backward, even to- 
wards Valenciennes." 

Consequently — under the eye and direction of Gen- 
eral Byng — they attacked the Boche, went over the top 



SIR JULIAN H. BYNG 295 

in wave after wave, and near the dun-colored ridges of 
this line of defense thousands of brave Canadian youths 
gave up their lives. Vimy Ridge — vengeful, gas-dis- 
torted, reddened with blood of both attacker and de- 
fender, stood there beaten to a yellow pulp by the shells 
of the guns. It was a savage, vengeful affair, and when 
all was over Vimy had been captured, but solid German 
legions stood between the British army and the border. 

The English kept up the hammer, hammer, hammer 
in 1916. They took Passchendaele, and the third battle 
of Ypres drew to a close, but so great had been the 
losses that gloom and sorrow hung over all England. 

" When I read of the conditions under which my men 
fought," said the Prime Minister of England, " I marvel 
that the delicate and sensitive instrument of the human 
mind can endure them without derangement. The 
campaigns of Stonewall Jackson fill us with admiration 
and with wonder as we read how that man of iron led 
his troops through the mire and swamps of Virginia ; 
but his troops were never called upon to live for days 
and nights in morasses under ceaseless thunderbolts 
from a powerful artillery and then march into battle 
through an engulfing quagmire under a hailstorm of 
machine-gun fire." 

It was November, 1916, and the troops were weary 
and played out, but they had to face more battle, for 
large forces had been brought from Russia to strengthen 
the German line, and it was important that some diver- 
sion should be created in this sector to relieve the pres- 
sure from Italy struggling upon the Piave. 

The British Commander-in-Chief, Sir Douglas Haig, 



296 FAMOUS GENERALS 

decided upon attack, and, looking aronnd, he found that 
the sector of the Siegfried Line, which lay in front of 
Havincourt Wood, between the Baupaume-Cambrai 
road, on the Scheldt canal, offered an excellent field for 
attempting to push through the Boche. It was a dry 
and open country in which tanks could operate, and 
it was a sector which was thinly held by the enemy. 
If Bourlon could be won, the canal crossed, and a de- 
fensive flank established in the direction of Rumilly, 
the English army would command all the approaches to 
the main Arras-Cambrai road, and would take in the 
rear all of the enemy positions in the Sensee Valley. 

Tanks were to be relied upon to break through the 
enemy's wire netting, and six infantry divisions were 
to advance on a six-mile front, supported, as much as 
possible, by the guns shooting over the heads of the 
men. There was to be no preliminary bombardment to 
warn the enemy of impending attack. 

The German Second Army was opposite the British 
troops at this point, and, under the able von der Mar- 
witz, had three divisions in line and three in reserve. 
Sir Edmund Allenby had commanded the British Third 
Army, now prepared for the advance in this sector, 
but, being transferred to Palestine, it was placed under 
" Bingo " Byng. On the six-mile front he had six 
divisions in line, in the Bullecourt area, two divisions. 
At his disposal — as a mounted force — were the 1st, 
2d, 4th and 5th Cavalry Divisions. A flotilla of tanks 
was assembled from every possible place, and many 
were hidden in the dense undergrowth. Had but a 
single enemy aeroplane hovered over Havrincourt woods 



SIR JULIAN H. BYNG 297 

it would have been all over with the plan of attack. 
The British knew full well, and " Bingo " knew it 
also, that, had the enemy suspected an overwhelming 
smash, the front would have been simply honeycombed 
with mines, and each regiment — as it advanced — 
would have been blown to smithereens. 

It was the month of November, and the skies were 
sodden and gray, the sun hidden by banks of misty 
mirage. The weather favored Sir Julian Byng with 
his Canadians and hard-hitting British. November 
20th dawned with heavy clouds overshadowing the sun, 
which struggled to peep down upon the array of khaki- 
clad soldiery waiting grimly for the word to advance. 
Hah ! At length it came — a deep boom of a solitary 
piece — it spoke at exactly twenty minutes past six 
o'clock — and, as its reverberations died out upon the 
still air, a long line of tanks crept out in the mist, to 
the attack. They looked like prehistoric monsters out 
for the morning's meal, and they snorted as they 
rumbled across the plowed fields. 

Now — boom — boom — roar — roar — the British 
artillery broke loose with a horrid din, shelling the 
Siegfried line with an appalling drenching of both 
iron, lead, and gas. But — look ! — rank, upon rank ; 
line upon line — the Canadian and British troops 
marched on to the assault, silently, grimly, briskly, — 
never had this quiet countryside seen such an array of 
stalwart men. 

The Germans were apparently unaware that the 
English were coming on, and they were taken by sur- 
prise. At Epehy and Bullecourt the assault was 



298 FAMOUS GENERALS 

launched, even as at the line from Scarpe to St. Qnentin. 
The tanks bustled into the barbed-wire and cut great 
lanes in this — they broke up the machine-gun nests 
and the men inside enfiladed the trenches ; and the tanks 
rumbled on, as line after line of infantrymen followed 
and broke the supposedly impregnable defense of Ger- 
man Kultur. 

The main Siegfried line gave completely away, and 
it was not long before the fighting was among the 
tunnels of the reserve Siegfried line, some mile and 
a half to the rear. By half past ten o'clock this line, 
also, had been broken, and, with the cavalry close be- 
hind them, the British triumphantly advanced towards 
Cambrai in open country. Everywhere the Germans 
were retreating — everywhere they seemed to be van- 
quished, so " Bingo " Byng smiled grimly as he looked 
over this land of desolation with his field-glasses. 

The cavalry was fighting gamely — in close alliance 
with the infantry — the 1st Cavalry Division being in 
the northern part of the battleground, the 5th Cavalry 
Division in the south. They moved forward, lustily, 
took the towns of Cantaing and Anneux, and pushed as 
far as the river, where the bridge at Masnieres was 
destroyed so that they could not cross. Had the entire 
body of hard riders been able to get across at the 
enemy there is no doubt that they would have taken 
Cambrai, but such was not to be the case. South of 
Masnieres a temporary bridge was constructed across the 
stream, and, by means of this, one squadron of the 
Fort Garry Horse, belonging to General Seely's Ca- 
nadian Brigade of the 5th Cavalry Division, crossed, 



SIR JULIAN H. BYNG 299 

broke through the Beauvoir-Masnieres line, charged 
and captured a spitting German battery, and fell back 
after nearly all of the horses had been either killed or 
wounded. It was a day fraught with success for the 
British cause. Yet — as the horse was unable to get 
over the river — its chance to make a big drive had 
passed, for the Boche hurried up reinforcements to 
this part of the line. 

The battle was to continue for many days and this 
was just the beginning of trouble. 

" Bingo " Byng still smiled, and said : 

" Whale them, boys, and get through to Cambrai. 
It can be done." 

Next day the rain fell steadily and the battle-ground 
was a veritable sea of mud. Yet on plunged the valiant 
British and Canadians, on, on, ever on, while the 
machine-guns spat at them like angry cats. At day- 
break the guns began to roar and groan, at eleven o'clock 
the final German line had been breached to the north 
of Masnieres. The village of Flesquires — a typical 
little sleepy French town — fell before the charging 
English — the enemy counter-attacking near Rumilly in 
a vain attempt to stem the victorious advance. On the 
right, the village of Les Rues des Vignes was taken, 
but the Boche was determined and bold — he retook it 
with awful loss of life. Men were haggard and wan, 
but they had their battle ire up and were hot for the 
fray. The Highlanders pressed on to the edge of 
Bourlon Wood, and, late in the evening — after a ter- 
rific battle — took the village of Fontaine-Notre-Dame, 
on the Baupaume road. 



300 FAMOUS GENERALS 

In front was Bourlon Wood — green-gray — silent 
— ominously drab. Filled with machine-guns, when- 
ever a regiment approached a belching sheet of steel 
shot from its underbrush. A few tanks crept into this 
woodland Hades, only to be captured by the Boche, who 
was here in force. And, as night fell upon attackers 
and attacked, the sun shone red in the West; red with 
the hate and lust of war. 

Another day dawned — another day of struggle and 
death — as the rumbling guns woke the stillness of the 
morn, " Bingo " Byng again said : 

" Boys, on ! — Cambrai must be taken ! " 

Sir Douglas Haig, viewing what had been won, cried 
out: 

" To-morrow we must seize the heights of Bourlon." 

That day was spent in rearranging the line — pre- 
paring, as it were, for what was to follow. The Boche 
attacked at Fontaine-Notre-Dame and, after a spirited 
affair, were driven out. Streams of wounded went to 
the rear, and as they passed the men cheered them. 

Another day of battle dawned and the roar of the 
artillery awoke the sleeping soldiers. They rose to 
their feet, prepared for the charge, and, breathing a 
prayer, sped over the trenches in the direction of Bour- 
lon Wood. The 40th Division attacked the forest, line 
upon line — wave upon wave — up and on they clam- 
bered, capturing machine-gun nests, driving out the 
Boche sharpshooters entering the town of Bourlon it- 
self. The Germans counter-attacked — it was the 
famous Guards Division — but they could not force 
back the strenuous Canadians, Australians, and British. 



SIR JULIAN H. BYNG 301 

Dead and dying lay on every side — ambulance trains 
of wounded hurried to the rear, yet the guns boomed on 
with their grumbling salvos, and the English pressed 
ever forward; cheering, fighting, bleeding, pushing. 

We think that Gettysburg was a battle because it 
lasted for four days, but what of this affair — it lasted 
for sixteen ? 

We thought that Waterloo was a fierce fight, but it 
only lasted for one day. 

We had an idea, perhaps, that Missionary Eidge, 
Bull Run number two, Sedan, Ramilles, Fontenoy, Cul- 
loden, Salamis, Saratoga, Spion Kop, Elandslaagte, 
were real, true battles — they were child's play com- 
pared to this one. This one still continued, although 
the losses on both sides were already stupendous. 

And how about our old friend " Bingo " Byng ? 

The General still stared stolidly in front, and said: 

a We are doing extremely well. Cambrai will fail." 

Another day dawned — a gray, bleak, misty day, the 
sun struggling through a pall of sulphurous vapor and 
murky mist. Roar — roar — roar — the guns were 
again at it, while silently, slowly, the dust-stained le- 
gions again formed for the assault. Silently, slowly 
the divisions, supported by tanks, made for Fontaine 
and Bourlon — the whole ridge must be secured. Fire 
and death spat into their faces, gas and flame was poured 
upon them, yet on, on they went and back, back fell the 
Boche. Hurrah ! Bourlon ridge was at last gained in 
the center, while on the left the 16th Division had won 
the ground of the Siegfried Line northwest of Bourlon. 
Sixty square miles of territory had been wrested from 



302 FAMOUS GENERALS 

the Germans and ten thousand five hundred prisoners 
had been captured. The Kaiser was worried as the 
news came to him in far distant Berlin. Cambrai would 
fall if he did not look out. 

The English now held a salient formed like a rough 
rectangle, some ten miles wide and six miles deep. The 
enemy saw the weakness of this line pushed into him like 
an arrow and he hurried up reinforcements for a coun- 
ter-stroke. Meanwhile bells of joy were pealing out in 
England and people were congratulating each other, 
for the British army was still advancing. — True — it 
was advancing, but with what an awful sacrifice of life ! 

A bespectacled German General, named von der Aiar- 
witz, issued — next morning — the following order to 
his troops: 

" The English, by throwing into the fight countless 
tanks on the 20th of November, gained a victory near 
Cambrai. Their intention was to break through ; but 
they did not succeed, thanks to the brilliant resistance of 
our troops. We are now going to turn their embryonic 
victory into a defeat by an encircling counter-attack. 
The Fatherland is watching you and expects every man 
to do his duty." 

The Germans cheered at this, but they had to look 
cheerful or else their officers would strafe them. 

Everywhere in the British front the warning was 
given that the Germans were preparing a counter-thrust, 
for the planes had seen vast reinforcements coming up. 
Special patrols were sent out to watch for signs of the 
enemy advance and additional machine-guns were placed 
to secure supporting points, While reserves were brought 



SIR JULIAN H. BYNG 303 

up near the line. Bourlon Ridge was held, but Byng 
knew that the Germans wanted it back, that they would 
use desperate means to secure it. 

Twenty-four fresh German divisions were hurried up 
by General Ludendorf to wipe out this British advance. 
Addressing the soldiers himself, he told them to drive 
back the English — to drive them back to the sea — if 
they could do so. 

It was again morning — this time the morning of 
November 30th. The sun was still obscured by clouds 
of murky vapor, while the dull banks of mist blew across 
the battle lines like a death pall. Boom ! A signal gun 
spoke from the hostile lines, and then a hell of gas 
and flame spat and flared at the intrenched British and 
Canadians. Bank upon rank, file upon file, the German 
troops were hurled upon the British position, and, hid- 
den by a fog, they advanced without being seen until 
they were close to the line. 

From the north end of the Bonvais Ridge to Gonne- 
lieu, and from Gonnelieu to Guilslain and Vendhuille, 
the British line was overwhelmed by stupendous num- 
bers of gray-clad Teutons. Back they pressed them, in 
spite of spitting batteries and stubborn Highlanders. 
The advance could not be stayed : the batteries at LaVac- 
querie were taken by cheering Huns — the first British 
guns to fall since the battle of Ypres — and at 9 a. m. 
the exultant followers of the Kaiser were in the village 
of Gouzeancourt. 

The situation was grave. 

Yet " Bingo " Byng was whistling, for he knew that 
the British were always better rear-guard fighters than 



304 FAMOUS GENERALS 

dashing onward pushers. It was characteristic of the 
English to be stubborn in reverse action. Therefore, 
why not whistle ? 

" Hold them, Britishers ! " he cried. 

It was midday when the Guards came into action west 
of Gouzeancourt, with the Fifth Cavalry Division on 
their right towards Villiers Guislain. The Germans 
were driven from the shattered town with fearful 
slaughter ; they retreated, fighting every inch of the way, 
and, for the rest of the day there was a sanguinary strug- 
gle for the Gauche Wood on the St. Quentin Eidge. 

The front was held by the 2nd, 56th, and 47th Di- 
visions and against them was hurled the Teutonic might 
— wave after wave. West of Bourlon Wood they thrust 
fiercely and the fighting was most severe. Almost 
shoulder to shoulder the Germans kept coming on, and 
hand-to-hand conflicts were common. The day was 
starred with deeds of heroism. The dead fairly lit- 
tered the ground, piled one over the other like sardines. 
An incident of the battle is well worth remembering, 
for it shows of what stern and stubborn stuff the Eng- 
lish are made : 

" Between Moeuvres and the Canal du Nord a com- 
pany of the 13th Essex and of the 2nd Division found 
itself isolated. After maintaining a splendid and suc- 
cessful resistance throughout the day, whereby the pres- 
sure upon the main line was greatly relieved, at 4 p. m. 
this company held a council of war, and unanimously 
determined to fight until the last and to have i no sur- 
render. 7 Two runners, who were sent to announce this 



SIR JULIAN H. BYNG 305 

decision to Battery Headquarters, succeeded in getting 
through to our lines, and delivered the message. Dur- 
ing the remainder of the afternoon and far into the night 
this gallant company was heard fighting, and there is 
little room for doubt that they carried the heroic reso- 
lution out to a man. When, two days later, the post 
was regained, such a heap of German dead lay in and 
around them that the bodies of our own men were hid- 
den." 

The English were awfully resolute. Cooks, orderlies, 
runners, and signalers joined in the defense of their 
position, and, before the fierce defense of the British 
troops, the German assault waves finally broke and fled, 
leaving immense heaps of dead. The evening hush fell 
upon fields of groaning wounded. 

But the battle had not yet closed. December 1st 
found the English themselves willing to advance, and 
so the Guards made an attack at the St. Quentin Ridge 
— capturing it and also the town of Gonnelieu. Far- 
ther south, with the aid of the dismounted Ambala 
brigade of Indian cavalry, they took Gauche Wood, but 
failed to take the village of Villiers Guislain. The Di- 
vision at Masnieres beat off nine separate German at- 
tacks. Yet, under pressure from the Boche several 
regiments were withdrawn backwards, and, on Decem- 
ber 3, the enemy won ground north and west of Gon- 
nelieu. The Boche also took the village of La Vacque- 
rie, while the English were withdrawn from the Scheldt 
Canal and were carried over to the west bank. The 
fight was about over. 



306 FAMOUS GENERALS 

It was the fourth day of December, and Sir Douglas 
Haig said: 

" The line must be shortened." 

" Bingo " Byng hastened to obey him, and from the 
fourth to the seventh the troops were moved so as to 
present a better front to the exultant Germans. The 
fresh British line lay along the old Siegfried Line of 
the Huns, and at Bullecourt the Ludendorf machine 
made a resolute attack which was repulsed with consid- 
erable slaughter. The fighting waned — died down — 
and peace settled over the shot-plowed fields of death. 
The most fearful battle of all history was a matter of 
the past. 

The honors were certainly with our friend " Bingo," 
for the British retained about sixteen miles of enemy 
territory, that is, sixteen square miles. The Germans 
had won back only seven miles, which the British had 
taken from them, and they had lost their far-famed 
Siegfried Line. Cambrai was a brilliant feat of arms 
which reflected great credit upon the British troops, but 
the enemy had not been weakened in his position, nor 
had it undermined the personnel of the Germans, as 
the losses were equally great on the side of the English. 
It had not weakened their morale, for the lines which 
had driven them out of the Siegfried Line and Reserve 
Line, had been, in turn, checked and hurled towards 
the sea. 

Yet, as the news of this fearful slaughter was carried 
to the four ends of the earth, one name stood out clearly 
against the horizon of destruction and death, and that 
was the silent, imperturbable leader of the Canadian 



SIR JULIAN H. BYNG 307 

Army Corps — " Bingo " Byng, the man who whistled 
when the day looked darkest for the Allied cause. 

And, when in 1917, it was reported that this taciturn 
soldier had been made a full General in the British army 
many a Canadian who had fought under him, spake as in 
the Bible, and said : " It is well ! " 



THE DITCH AT CAMBRAI 

OR 

THE MAN FROM KANKAKEE, IN KANSAS 

'Twas the third attack at Cambrai and the shells were 

raining fast, 
The air was charged with sulphur and the fumes of 

poison gas, 
We were lying facing Boche-ward, with our masks upon 

our eyes, 
When the Germans caught us edgewise, and wholly by 

surprise. 

They shot at us with Mausers, and they shelled at us 

with Toms, 
They raided us with Enfields, and they shied at us with 

bombs, 
They whaled at us with Johnsons, and they threw out 

liquid flame, 
And they squirted deadly chemicals, — it was a dirty 

game! 

The guns were booming all around, there were wails and 

shrieks of pain, 
The Boche were fighting fiercely, like pirates of the 

Main, 
There was grumbling roar of musketry, there was rip 

and zip of powder, 
But above the awful din and noise, my bunkie's voice 
rose louder. 

308 



THE DITCH AT CAMBRAI 309 

" I'm from Kankakee, in Kansas," said my gas-masked 

buddy smiling; 
" I'm from Kankakee, in Kansas, and my blood's not 

even riling; 
I'm from Kankakee in Kansas, and I want to tell you, 

son 
That this show just isn't one — two — three when a 

cyclone has begun. 

" Why, last fall a wind-jam struck our town, and it blew 
for twenty days, 

It raised off every roof around, and killed off all the jays, 

It broke the Court-House steeple, and it landed in th' 
crick, 

Where it hit a great big bowlder, and smashed it some- 
thing slick. 

" It plowed up forty building lots, it tore up fifty fliv- 
vers. 
It cut down sixty forests, and it upset seventy rivers ; 
It blew up a whole mountain, and it killed the Deacon's 

pig; 

But he's a vegetarian, and didn't care a fig. 

" It razed the theaters to the sod, and maimed the dogs 
and cats, 

It cleaned out all the mice in town, — put the ki-bosh 
on the rats, 

It ripped up all the bungalows — it mauled the tallest 
man. 

It blew up the new-made Ball Park, and killed the Old- 
est Fan. 



310 FAMOUS GENEBALS 

" Yes, I'm from Kankakee, in Kansas, and I want to 

tell you, son, 
That, compared to a Kansas cyclone, this war is merely 

fun. 
I don't regard these Germans with aught but loving joy, 
Because I come from Kankakee, and proud of it my 

boy." 

A sheet of flame now swept us, as we lay with guns in 

hand, 
A whirl of gas descended, and blotted out the land, 
And as the bugle shrilled " Advance ! " — I heard a 

gentle snore, 
My friend, indeed, was sleeping — he'd been through 

Hell before. 



THE END 



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ALMA AT HADLEY HALL 

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